FoodTimeline library
When and why did humans begin consuming eggs?
When? Since the beginning of human time.
"It is likely that female game birds were, at some time in the early history of man, perceived as a
source both of meat and of eggs. Men discovered that by removing from the nest eggs that they
did not wish to have hatch (or that they simply wished to eat), they could induce the female jungle
fowl to lay additional eggs and, indeed, to continue to lay eggs throught an extended laying
season."
---The Chicken Book, Page Smith and Charles Daniel [University of Georgia
Press:Athens] 1975 (p. 11-12)
"Eggs have been known to, and enjoyed by, humans for many centuries. Jungle fowl were
domesticated in India by 3200 B.C.E. Record from China and Egypt show that fowl were
domesticated and laying eggs for human consumption around 1400 B.C.E., and there is
archaeoligical evidence for egg consumption dating back to the Neolithic age. The Romans found
egg-laying hens in England, Gaul, and among the Germans. The first domesticated fowl reached
North America with the second voyage of Columbus in 1493."
Why do we call them eggs?
How many different kind of eggs are there?
"Eggs from many species of fowl (birds) have doubtless been consumed since the very beginning of humankind's stay on earth. In historical times, ancient Romans ate
peafowl eggs, and the Chinese were fond of pigeon eggs. Ostrich eggs have been eaten since the day sof the Phoenicians, whereas quail eggs, as hard-cooked,
shelf-stable, packaged prdoucts, are now featured on many gourmet food counters in the United States and Japan. Other eggs consumed by various ethnic groups
include those from plovers, partridges, gulls, turkeys, pelicans, ducks, and geese. Turtle eggs have been highly prized, and in starvation situations, any eggs, even those
of alligators, have been relied upon."
When did people start using eggs in baking and why?
Culinary evidence confirms breads and cakes using eggs were made by Ancient Egyptian and
Roman
peoples. The reason most often sited was the recognition that eggs worked as binding
(thickening) agents.
How did that begin? The food historians to not venture into this territory.
Possibly it was a discovery based on trial and error. Many foods and cooking methods (leavened
bread,
roasted meats, yogurt) were "invented" this way.
"It is clear that Egyptians enjoyed their food. Nobles and priests were particularly well served,
with at least
forty different kinds of bread and pastries, some raised, some flat, some round, some conical,
some plaited.
There were some varieties made with honey, others with milk, still others with eggs."
"Farming the prolific chicken has allowed us to make eggs a part of our diet without harming its
reproductive cycle. However, the very few ancient Greek recipes to mention eggs date from after
the time of
Pericles, when the chicken was introduced to Africa. It took some times for the habit of using
eggs in
cooking to catch on. We do hear of thagomata, made from egg whites, and various stuffings using
egg
yolks. On the other hand the classic cake offered as a sacrifice by the Romans, the libum, called
for one
egg to a pound of flour. In the Roman period pastry cooks made much use of eggs for desserts as
well as
cakes. Apicius (25 BC) invented baked custard: milk, honey and eggs beaten and cooked in an
eartheware
dish on gentle heat. Eggs really made their way into the kitchen with Apicius, who mentioned
them
frequently in the Ars Magirica. Beaten eggs were used as a thickening and to bind sauces and
ragouts;
hardboiled eggs became an ingredient of various dishes, sometimes with cheese, but here is no
evidence
that eggs were eaten just as they were, as a dish in themselves. This does not mean that they were
not so
eaten; it could simply indicate that they were not thought interesting enough for special
mention."
Ancient Roman
libum recipe (ancient translation & modern version)
These sources are good starting points for an
understanding of the topic:
Humans have been consuming eggs since the dawn of human time. The history is complicated and
diverse; the culinary applications are innumerable. When, where, and why have people been
eating eggs?
Where? Wherever eggs could be obtained. Differerent kinds of eggs were/still are eaten
in
different parts of the world. Ostrich and chicken are the most common.
Why? Because eggs are relatively easy to obtain, excellent protein sources, adaptable to
many
different types of recipes (from simply boiled, fried, or stuffed to complicated quiche, custards or
meringue), and fit the bill for meatless fasting days required by some religions. In this last role?
Eggs have been the object of much socio-religious symbolism and tradition. Over time, some
groups have encouraged the consumption/decoration of eggs in celebration of certain events.
Others have decided eggs are filthy food which must avoided. None of this is arbitrary.
---Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, Solomon H. Katz, editor, William Woys Weaver,
associate editor [Charles Scribner's Sons:New York] 2003, Volume 1 (p. 558)
"The egg...tracks it name back to a prehistoric Indo-European source related to words for 'bird'...The Old English term was oeg, which survived in Middle English as ey (plural eyren)....But in the fourteenth century the related egg was borrowed from Old Norse. For a time the two forms competed with each other (William Caxton, in the prologue to his Book of Eneydos (1490), asked 'What should a man in these day now write, eggs or eyren, certainly it is hard to please every man'), and the Norse form did not finally emerge as the winner until the late sixteenth century."
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxrod] 2002 (p. 117)
Birds and reptiles lay eggs. Of these, some are consumed by humans. Preferences vary according to place, taste and economic conditions.
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple and Kriemhild Conee Ornelas [Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000, Volume One (p. 499)
Food historians tell us the practice was ancient but they do not venture an exact place, date, or
reason. The
domestication of fowl (esp. chicken) greatly increased the availabiltiy of eggs to ancient peoples.
This is
thought by some to have begun in China in 6,000BC. About
chicken.
---Food in History, Reay Tannahill [Three Rivers Press:New York] 1988 (p. 53)
---History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, translated by Anthea Bell [Barnes &
Noble
Books:New York] 1992 (p. 356)
Need facts, trivia & science? The American Egg Board is the
place to go!
---includes extensive bibliography for further study; use the index to locate information on other
types of eggs
---Part I. A historical, Theoretical and Practical Chapter on Eggs. Part II, egg cooking methods & recipes (extensive catalog).
---uses & customs, including Easter traditions
---as they relate to English cookery
---rituals, customs & myths
"Eggs were not really part of the diet until poultry-farming became common, and, when they did, those most usually consumed were hen's eggs...Was there some
taboo...on eating the eggs of the earlier domestic fowls? It depends on the sense in which the trm is used. Not necessarily a religious taboo, but more of an
economic interdiction, since 'the egg is in the chicken, and the chicken is in the egg'. The Mossi of Burkina Faso in Africa have never troubled themselves with
such philosophical reflections, but simply emply common sense. They will not let their children eat eggs for fear they will become thieves. The idea is not that...he who
steals an egg will steal an ox...but because he who steals an egg is stealing a chicken. Poultry lives at large in the villages of Africa, laying eggs anywhere.
Children must therefore be prevented from eating future broods, which would be community property,...An egg unnecessarily stolen and eaten will never become a
chicken...Morever, and even more seriously, the spirits will be offended, for all the poultry the Mossi eat has first been sacrificed to the local tutelary spirits...The
Mossi are a special example. All over the world, form the dawn of time, eggs have been collected from birds' nests in times of need...In the Far East the egg is not so important
an item of diet as in Europe,...It is a luxury for the rich, with all the symbolic and philosphical connotations that might be expected...The dyed or painted egg...is an
Easter tradition of the Christian West which has proved particularly tenacious in Central Europe...The tradition of easter eggs coincides,...with a self-explanatory
universal symbol, in this case creation, rebirth and spring..."
---History of Food, Maugelonne Toussaint-Samat, translated by Anthea Bell [Barnes and Noble Books:New York] 1992 (p. 355-362)
"Considering the strange biological history of the egg, it is not surpring that its symbolic power is rivaled only by that of the cock. In Egypt eggs were hung in the
temples to encourage fertility, and everywhere, of course, they have been associated with birth and renewal. The Hindu description of the beginning of the world saw
it as a cosmic egg. First hrere was nonbeing and then that nonbeing became existent and turned into an enourmous egg, which incubated for a year and then split
open, with one part silver and the other gold. The silver half became the earth; the gold, the sky; the outer membrane, mountains; the inner, mist and clouds; the
veins were rivers, and the fluid part of the egg was the ocean, and from all of these came in turn the sun. In certain other religions the egg was equated with the sun
and the yolk was seen as a kind of mixture of earth and water..."
---The Chicken Book, Page Smith & Charles Daniel [University of Georgia Press:Athens GA] 2000 (p. 184)
It is interesting to note some grocers through time argued eggs should properly be sold by weight, not count. Why? Because the actual size of the eggs were different. Today's egg sellers take this into account. Products are graded by size and grouped/packed/priced accordingly. While the dozen remains the standard for statistical purposes, eggs are now sold to retail consumers in packs ranging from 6 to 18.
[Anglo Saxon England]
Eggs sold in lots of 20 (no price supplied)
---A Second Handbook of Anglo-Saxon Food and Drink, Production and Distribution, Ann Hagen [Anglo-Saxon Books:Norfolk England] 1995 (p. 263)
[Medieval England]
"...ten eggs for a penny..."
---Food and Eating in Medieval Europe, Martha Carlin and Joel T. Rosenthal editors [Hambledon Press:London] 1998 (p. 38)
"Eggs ranged in price from 3 1/2d to 4 1/2 d a hundred."
---A Baronial Household of the Thirteenth Century, Margaret Wade Labarge [Barnes & Noble Books:Totowa NJ] 1965 (p. 82)
[Elizabethan Scotland]
"The only long-term series for the price of butter and eggs, goods that were associated in particular with salse made by the farmer's and cottar's wife, come from the
accounts of the St. Andrews colleges...The price of eggs was about 1s.1d. a dozen in the late 1580s, and 62 per cent higher by 1617-21."
---Prices, Food and Wages in Scotland 1550-1780, A.J.S. Gibson and T.C. Smout [Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 1995 (p. 200)
[NOTE: chart illustrating eggs (mean price per dozen, St. Andrews University 1587-1780 appears on p. 224.]
[18th century America]
"...a dozen eggs for 3 pence..."
---Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery, transcribed by Karen Hess [Columbia University Press:New York] 1981 (p. 9)
[1804 USA]
"Eight dozen eggs pays for a pound of tea."
---The Philadelphia Evening Post, May 4, 1804 (p. 3)
[1805 ]
"Eggs have been sold in Boston market the present winter at One Dollar a Dozen."
---Pennsylania Correspondent and Farmers' Advertiser, February 19, 1805 (p. 3)
[1833]
"It is bad economy to buy eggs by the dozen, as you want them."
---American Frugal Housewife, Mrs. Child, facsimile 1833 edition [Applewood Books:Boston] (p. 2)
[1857]
"In your comments upon the efforts to get rid of Spanish coin and give our decimal currency its proper position I have seen no suggestion concerning the disuse of dozens
and grosses. As long as the fashion is to sell eggs and pen-knives and chissels and screws by the dozen, so long will the prices be computed in shllings and pence, and
the fractions of cents be charged upon the purchaser. Manufactuers of articles who have been accustomed to put them up in dozens can do much to promote the use of
decimal currency by putting them up in tens and hundreds. The price of a package will tehn readily indicate the price of a single article, and the nuisance of factions be
avoided. There is no rational reason why twelve knives and forks, or teaspoons or cups and saucers should constitute a set, and that ten or twenty should, and no reason
why screws cannot be put into papers of 100 as well as 144."
---"Decimal Currency," letter to the editor, New York Times, February 14, 1857 (p. 9)
[1861 England]
"The Metropolis is supplied with eggs from all parts of the kingdom...supposing them on an average to cost fourpence a dozen..."
---Mrs.. Beeton's Book of Household Management, Isabella Beeton, facsimile 1861 edition [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2000, abridged edition (p. 322)
[1883]
"Two hundred thousand dozen eggs have been received at this port from Europe during the past nine months...The eggs came packed in straw in long cases containing
120 dozen each."
[1884]
[1886]
[1890+ ]
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has been tracking retail sale of eggs in lots of one dozen from
1890+
[go to page 31]
[1911]
Artemas Ward's
Grocers's Encyclopedia 1911:
"The egg is one of a dozen that the farmer takes to the nearest village store and either sells for a small sum of money or barters for sugar, calico, tobacco or some other
commodity that he needs more than he needs eggs."
"The quality of poultry in Roman Italy was distinctly below that of the well-established strains of to-day. The best hens laid
about 60 eggs. That eggs were smaller than to-day, may be inferred from the fact that Varro and Pliny give 25 as a suitable maximum
for a setting; Columella's figure is 21."
Andrew Dalby's new translation of Geoponika [Farm Work] provides insight into Roman/Byzantine egg sizes (c. 10th century AD):
"Book Fourteen, 11. Making hens produce large eggs...You will make hens produce large eggs if you crush Laconian pots, mix the powder with bran,
moisten it with wine and give it to them or mix a saucer of crushed pot with two choinikes of bran and give as food. Some who want
large eggs to be produced crumble up red earth and mix it with their food."
Recreating old recipes with modern products always poses special challenges. When eggs are on the shopping list,
think small or medium. Timelining the evolution of USA egg sizes is interesting because
different standards were formulated by states, federal agencies, and companies at the same time. Most of these standards
were voluntary, not mandated.
Below please find selected milestones based on grocer's notes, industry standards, government recommendations, domestic scientists,
market advertisements and consumer advocates.
[1883]
[1886]
[1896]
[1911]
[1912]
[1918]
[1927]
[1932]
[1933]
[1936]
[1940]
[1943]
[1946]
[1948]
[1954]
[1955]
[1957]
[1962]
[1965]
[1966]
[1967]
[1975]
Why are eggs sold by the dozen?
Shell eggs & cooking times
"Boiled eggs (soft boiled)--Oeufs Mollets--Plunge the eggs into a pan of boiling water. Cook 3-4 minutes...Eggs a la coque...Plunge
the egg into a pot of boiling water. An egg of average weight should be left for 3 minutes. A larger eggs should be left for
half a minute longer in the boiling water...Poached eggs...simmer very gently for 3 minutes."
Boiled eggs through time
Ancient Egypt
Classical Greece
Ancient Rome
Medieval Europe
"The most usual way of dressing eggs at the end of the Middle Ages were to roast them in embers, to poach them in hot water or broth, or to fry them...By the later sixteenth century the boiling of eggs in their shells in water had become a common practice. Prepared thus they were more digestible than roasted eggs; but less so than poached eggs, which always earned the highest praise form the medical men...Hard-boiled chopped eggs were still put into pies of mixed ingredients."
Renaissance Italy
18th Century France
Soft boiled eggs
Medieval France: "soft-boiled" eggs were recommended for digestibility:
Boiled eggs through time
"Boiled Eggs with Rue and Tuna or Anchovies
"Soft-Boiled Eggs in Pine Nut Sauce
"Soft-Boiled Eggs in Vinegar (Oribasius 4.11.14)]
"1295. Oeufs Durs--Hard-boiled Eggs
Not long after the Ancient Greeks and Romans
domesticated fowl, egg dishes of all kinds figured prominently in cookery texts. Eggs were eaten
on their own (omelets, scrambled) and employed as congealing agents (custard, flan, souffles).
The ancestor of deviled eggs? Ancient Roman recipes for boiled eggs (to various degrees) eggs
were generaly served with saucy spices poured on top.
The first recipes for stuffed, hard-boiled were printed in medieval European texts.
These cooks stuffed their eggs with raisins, cheese and sweet
spices.
Platina's
The practice of hard boiling eggs was popular in Tudor England:
"By the later sixteenth century the boiling of eggs in their shells in water had become a common
practice. Prepared thus they were more digestible that roasted eggs; but less so than poached
eggs, which always earned the highest praise form the medical men." According to historic cookbooks, the practice of boiling eggs, extracting the yolks and
combining them with savory spices (mustard, cayenne pepper) and refilling the eggs with the
mixture was common in latter years of the 16th century and was the "norm" by the 17th.
"The Second Way
"Eggs in Mustard Sauce
According to the food historians the practice of "devilling" food "officially" began sometime
during the 18th century in England. Why? Because that was when the term "deviled," as it relates
to food, first shows up in print. The earliest use of this culinary term was typically associated with
kidneys & other meats, not stuffed eggs:
"Devil...A name for various highly-seasoned broiled or fried dishes, also for hot ingredients. 1786,
Craig "Lounger NO. 86 'Make punch, brew negus, and season a devil.'"
"Devil--a culinary term which...first appeared as a noun in the 18th century, and then in the early
19th century as a verb meaning to cook something with fiery hot spices or condiments...The term
was presumably adopted because of the connection between the devil and the excessive heat in
Hell...Boswell, Dr Johnson's biographer, frequently refers to partaking of a dish of "devilled
bones" for supper, which suggests an earlier use."
"Deviled...Any variety of dishes prepared with hot seasonings, such as cayenne or mustard. The
word derives from the association with the demon who dwells in hell. In culinary context the
word first appears in print in 1786; by 1820 Washington Irving has used the word in his
Sketchbook to describe a highly seasoned dish similar to a curry. Deviled dishes were very
popular throughout the nineteenth and into the twentieth centuries, especially for seafood
preparations and some appetizers."
---The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, John Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (pages 110-111)
"Around 1868, Underwood's sons began experimenting with a new product created from ground
ham blended with special seasonings. The process they dubbed "deviling," for cooking and
preparing the ham, was new. But best of all, the taste was unique. Soon thereafter, the
"Underwood devil" was born."
Many early 19th century devilling recipes were for meat and other items:
"Devilling, Or broiling with cayenne, is also a good expident to coax the palate when you have
relics of poultry of game. Fish can likewise be "devilled," or egged and fried with a small piece of
butter and bread crumbs, mixed with a little dried tyme, marjoram, and fresh parsley crumbled and
chopped very fine."
Recipes for deviled eggs have changed with time, probably a result of culinary fads and ingredient
availabilty. Compare the following:
[1894]
Gravy a la Diable
[1908]
[1940]
[1946]
[1954]
From the beginning, commercial baking and confectionery concerns composed the largest market for dried egg products. Cheaper,
more stable, and easier to store than fresh eggs, dried counterparts were readily embraced. The earliest print reference we find for
the use of dried egg albumen in royal icing is from the early 1920s.
Dried egg timeline(USA)
[1880]
[1881]
[1883]
[1910]
[1911]
[1921]
[1930]
[1931]
When did professional confectioners begin using dried egg albumin in royal icing?
[1921?]
[1957]
"The story of eggs Benedict is a hard one to tell. The beginning is shady at best, the main character has a hangover, and there are decades when
nothing much happens. But the genre is certain, and the setting clear: Eggs Benedict is a mystery rooted in a long-vanished version of New York.
Despite the dish's twisted history, it provides a link to one of the city's more glamorous eras. Of eggs Benedict's origins, much has been said, but
little has been settled. Key witnesses are long dead. One cookbook contradicts another. Even the Oxford English Dictionary shrugs:
'Origins U.S.'...And while there are several eggs Benedict creation myths, some of which may be the subject of discussion among aficionados on
National Eggs Benedict day...April 16, they share decidedly genteel roots: rich and distinguished New Yorkers, fabulous New York restaurants and
an adventurous 19th-century dining culture unfettered by contemporary concerns about trans fats and cholesterol. If there is a starting point to
the debate over the provenance of this quintessential brunch dish, it would be 1942. That was the year The New Yorker published an article about
a stockbroker named Lemuel Benedict and a breakfast order he had placed nearly 50 years earlier, in 1894, at the old Waldorf hotel at Fifth
Avenue and 33rd Street. By 1931, when the hotel, renamed the Waldorf-Astoria, moved to its current location on Park Avenue, eggs Benedict had
been enshrined as a classic American dish...By all accounts, Lemuel Benedict was a dashing ladies' man, typically outfitted in fine dark suits and
high white collars...His name appeared often in newspaper society columns, and he had a reputation for leaving huge tips at New York's finest
restaurants...Although Lemuel Benedict had a hangover that morning in 1894, the New Yorker article recounted, he didn't shy away from
breakfast. He ordered two poached eggs, bacon, buttered toast and a pitcher of hollandaise sauce, a rich, egg-based sauce flavored with butter,
lemon and vinegar. Then he built the dish that bears his name. Lemuel's innovation attracted the attention of Oscar of the Waldorf, as the maitre
d'hotel there was widely known. He promptly tested it and put the item on the menu, although Oscar's version substituted ham for bacon and an
English muffin for toast..Lemuel benedict reveled in the attention and prestige that resulted from his breakfast order. But his original request had
specified toast, and he never warmed to the idea of English muffins...Lemuel Benedict died at age 76 in 1943, less than a hear after the New
Yorker article was published The article had, however, caught the attention of Jack Benedict, a real estate salesman from Colorado who was the
son of Lemuel's first cousin. As other stories about the creation of eggs Benedict surfaced, Jack Benedict's interest in the dish grew into
full-fledged activism and, eventually, obsession. He became dedicated to the task of making sure that his dead relative got credit for his famous
breakfast order. Jack Benedict was particularly upset by an article published in March 1978 in Bon Appetit magazine titled 'Perfect Eggs Benedict,
' which credited a Mr. and Mrs. LeGrand Benedict as the founders of the dish. According to Bon Appetit, the couple requested the ingredients one
morning around the turn of the last century at Delmonico's...The article noted that one account credited the dish's creation to a young man with a
hangover at the Waldorf, but in an error that must have further inflamed Jack Benedict, it referred to the young man not as Lemuel Benedict but
Samuel. And in 1894, the year Lemuel placed his order at the Waldorf, the legendary's chef Charles Ranhofer published a huge cookbook called
The Epicurean that included and almost identical recipe, Eggs a la Benedick. The LeGrand version of the eggs Benedict creation story came to
eclipse the account offered in The New Yorker in many cookbooks and food reference books...One seeming hitch in the version that credits Oscar
of the Waldorf, who plays such a key role in that account, never confirmed the story, despite ample opportunity to do so. Oscar had no aversion
to publicity...But Oscar never mentioned eggs Benedict, either by name or by description...Some food historians are also skeptical about Jack
Benedict's claims. 'It's not a 100 percent invented dish...it's an evolution...'"
What interests us more than the actual "invention" of the dish (which, food historian Mark Zanger quite rightly points
out [American History Cookbook (p. 139)]
was known in 1830s Kentucky, is the "invention" of the story behind the dish.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest print reference to Eggs Benedict appeared in 1898: "Poached eggs...benedict, split and toast some
small muffins; put on each a nice round slice of broiled ham, and on the ham the poached egg; our over some Hollandaise sauce." [A. Meyer, Eggs & how to
use Them] . We agree with Mr. Zanger & Mr. Beyer: this recipe was not invented, it evolved. The oldest description we find for this dish predates the earliest
creation legend by 50 years. None of the "creation" stories state a particular date. In the food world this is not unusual.
Doing the "math" on Lemuel's story places the dish in 1894. Food historians remind us the gap between "invention" and print
evidence can take years, if not decades. Newspapers do the best job reporting new recipes & food trends. Magazines follow
close behind. Cookbooks us date general overall knowledge/acceptance of a particular dish/by name.
[1896]
[1898]
[1902]
[1906]
[1909]
[1920]
"Eggs Benedict
[1924]
[1935]
[1942]
[1964]
[1967]
Eggs Benedict
"To the Editor: I am writing to correct the statement by Edward
P. Montgomery concerning the origin of Eggs Benedict, as reported recently by Craig Claiborne. The true story, well known to the relations of Mrs. LeGrand Benedict, of whom I am one, is as follows. Mr. and Mrs. Benedict, when they lived in New York around the turn of the century, lunched every Saturday at Delmonico's. One day Mrs. Benedict said to the maitre d'hotel, 'Haven't you anything new or different to suggest?' On his reply that he would like to hear something new from her, she suggested poached eggs on toasted English muffins with a thin slice of ham, hollandaise sauce and a truffle on top. This recipe has bone around the world. Commodore E. C. Benedict, who was given the credit, was a cousin and undoubtedly enjoyed these eggs, but it would have been unlike him to have called them his inventions. The name is occasionally given, erroneously, as 'Eggs Benedictine.'--Mabel C. Butler, Vineyard Haven, Mass."
[1978]
[1981]
Related recipe? Eggs-in-a-basket (aka Ox Eyes)
Elizabethan-era English Snow (cream, eggs) is a different dessert. Here egg whites are whipped into the cream to achieve a fluffy white appearance, not necessarily floating
in a sea of custard. By the 18th century, Snow recipes disappear from English cookbooks. They are replaced with French Floating Islands. This
suggests an evolving English palate. Mrs. Beeton's Snow Eggs [1861] are most definately French. Our survey of historic recipes illustrates the complicated
relationship between of these three recipes as told through ingredients, method and presentation.
What is Floating Island?
Hangtown Fry
The legend behind the name
Our survey of historic newspapers, including The Mountain Democrcat [Placerville CA, 1854+] the confirms oysters & eggs were indeed
popular, expensive, and readily available to people with money in California (coastal San Francisco & landlocked: Hangtown, Placerville, Sacramento) in the 1850s. Local hotel restaurant
menus and grocery store ads feature eggs and oysters. Sometimes in combination. Dishes composed of oysters and eggs were not uncommon. Think: oyster omelets and
oyster scrambled eggs. Pre-WWII references & recipes to Hangtown Fry are not uncommon in California
sources. A popular 1949 state-by-state cookbook, published 100 years after the initial find at Sutter's Mill, might be the key to unlocking modern genesis of this legend. Soon thereafter
the details were embellished. In 1952 Helen Evans Brown pronounced Hangtown Fry as "most famous of our oyster dishes" in her West Coast Cook Book. Ms. Brown offers two legends, without comment or credit.
[1890]
[1898]
[1919]
[1922]
[1924]
[1928]
[1935]
[1936]
[1949]
[1952]
[1964]
Shirred eggs
The Oxford English Dictionary, the adjective "shirred," as it applies to cookery, first surfaces in the late 19th century:
"An American way of cooking eggs: the eggs are broken into a cup or small bowl, covered with milk or cream and often breadcrumbs, and baked. It is not clear where the term (first recorded in 1883)
came from, nor how it is related to the verb shirr to gather fabric by means of parallel threads."
The Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles/Mitford Matthews suggest the verb/adjective precedes the acutal ceramic dish:
[1879]
[1886]
[1887]
Shirred Eggs, White House Cook Book, Mrs. F.L. Gillette.
[1898]
What was English Snow?
A survey of French, English & French-American recipes through time
Modern redaction helps us understand this item:
[1653 France]
[1685 England]
[1747 England]
[1769 England]
"To make a Floating Island a second way
Why are they called omelettes?
The Oxford English Dictionary (Online version) adds:
"The word comes from the French "lamelle" (thin strip)
because of its flat shape; previously it was known as alumelle and then alumette, and finally
amelette. (Some authorities claim that the word has a Latin origin, ova mellita, a classic
Roman dish consisting of beaten eggs cooked on a flat clay dish with honey.)..."
"The etymology of the world omelette (homelaicte in Rabelais) is also very obscure, although the
dish itself goes back as far as the Romans. It is thought to derive ultimately from lamella, a thin
plate, referring to the long, flat shape of the omelette, and to represent a gradual corruption of
[the word] allumelle first to allumelette, then to alomelette. Le cuisinier francois [a
cookbook] of
1651 has aumelette. Jean-Jacques Rousseau...had the dexterity and precision required to turn his
beaten eggs by tossing them in the air, like a pancake...
The Cuisine bougeoise [another cookbook] of 1784 uses the modern form of the word,
omelette, carefully distinguishing between it and scrambled eggs, a new recipe of the time..."
Smple omelettes through time
[15th century]
[1653]
[1685]
[1769]
[1826]
[1845]
[1875]
[1884]
[1890s]
[1896]
[1903]
[1919]
[1928]
[1941]
[1966]
[1972]
Consider these recipes:
[1908]
Related recipe: Eggs Benedict.
"Vinegar pickling of all kinds of food suddenly became very popular in the sixteenth century in England,
when salted foods were losing favor and were gradually being relegated to the food of the poor. When the
English farmer's wife had a glut of eggs, she would boil then hard, shell them, and pile them into
earthenware or glass jars and over them scalding vinegar well seasoned with pepper, ginger, garlic, and
allspice. "The eggs are fit to use after a month" and were quite a treat in the farmhouse kitchen."
"Pigeon eggs are considered a delicacy in China, and are sometimes served poached in a soup of bamboo shoots, celery and
chicken."
"Pigeon Eggs in Tomatoes
"Braised Pigeon Eggs
Sauce
"Poached Pigeon Eggs
"Boiled Pigeon Eggs
"Scotch egg: a hard boiled egg enveloped in sausage meat and then fried. It is a popular cold snack, often eaten
in pubs, or on picnics. Its origin is unclear although it could possible be a descendant of a form of
Indian Kofta...the first printed recipe was in Mrs. Rundell (...1806), and suggests that the Scottish
origin of the item was pointed up by its appearance in Meg Dods (1826), where it is described as
being eaten hot with gravy, a practice also recorded by Mrs. Beeton (1861)."
[1807]
[1826]
[1875?]
[1884]
[1979]
Recipes and methods vary according to time, place and cook's taste. There is no one "official" recipe; but a plethora of
culinary choices. Eggs can be mixed together before cooking, extra ingredients (cream, water, butter, cheese, diced vegetables) may be introduced
at any time. Some cooks scramble at the end when the eggs are almost cooked; others prefer constant agitation. Should the final
product be yellow or white and yellow? One thing is for certain: on Western European and Americn tables, scrambled eggs were meant to be accompanied by hot buttered toast!
Scrambled eggs are perfect for breakfast, lunch (Western Sandwich), main course (Egg Foo Young) and
midnight snack (24 hour diner fare).
This 14th century Italian text references "scrambled eggs"
15th century Italian cookbooks offer a variety of egg dishes. One can discover the similarity to
contemporary "scrambled" eggs by reading the method. These were not called "scrambled eggs,"
nor can we tell exactly what the finished product would have looked like. This recipe does not
mention the egg yolk at all...was it beaten in? Or omitted altogether...leaving the finished product
white?
Martino [Napoli,15th century] offers a recipe for scrambled eggs and cheese, which Terence
Scully, noted culinary historian and translator states "is unknown elsewhere. The qualification "in
the German fashion: is interesting--but not helpful." [recipe 143]
[16th Century England]
[1685: England]
[1792: USA]
[1857: USA]
[1874: England]
"Eggs, Scrambled [American].
[1884: USA]
[1907: Paris]
Method of Preparation: Gently heat 50 g (2 oz) butter in a heavy small pan, add 6 beaten eggs seasoned with salt and pepper,
place over a moderate heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon taking care that the heat remains even; too quick cooking will
cause lumps to form which is contrary to the description of the term scrambled. When the eggs have attained the correct smooth,
creamy consistency, remove form the fire, mix in 50 g (2 oz) butter in small pieces and, if ruqeired, 1/2 dl ( 2 fl oz or 1/4 U.S. cup)
cream. A whisk should not be used unless absolutely necessary."
[1919: USA]
[1939: USA]
Related dish? Hangtown Fry.
"Souffle
"Patrons of La Grande Taverne de Londres, which opened in Paris in the 1780s, were perhaps the
first to enjoy this dessert souffle. It comes from the repertoire of Beauvilliers, who, wrote,
Brillat-Savarin, "was for more than fifteen years the most famous restauranteur in Paris"..."
Why does a souffle fall if there is a loud noise?
"Though many a cook has blamed the collapse of a souffle on the spouse who slammed the kitchen door, the force of the shock waves from that deed is too weak
to pop more than a few air bubbles, if any at all. The culpable party, if truth be told, is the cook who made one or more culinary errors in the science of souffle
making."
"Souffles--savory and sweet mixes lightened with an egg-white foam, then dramatically inflated above their dish by oven heat--have the reputation for being difficult
preparations...In fact, souffles are reliable and resilient...If you manage to get any air into the mix, an inexorable law of nature will raise it in the oven, and opening
the door for a few seconds won't do it any harm. The inevitable post-oven deflation can be minimized by your choice of ingredients and cooking method...The physical law that animates the souffle was discovered a few decades after its invention by--appropriately--a French scientist and balloonist,
J.A.C. Charles. Charles's law is this: all else equal, the volume occupied by a given weight of gas is proportional to its temperature. Heat an inflated balloon and the
sir will take up more space, so the balloon expands. Similarly, put a souffle in the oven and its air bubbles heat up and swell, so the mix expands in the only
direction it can: out the top of the dish. Charles's law is part of the story, but not the whole story--it accounts for about a quarter of the typical souffle rise. The rest
comes from the continuous evaporation of water from the bubble walls into the bubbles. As portions of the souffle approach the boiling point, more liquid water
becomes water vapor and adds to the quantity of gas molecules in the bubbles, which increases the pressure on the bubble walls, which causes the walls to stretch
and the bubbles to expand...Charles's law also means that what must go up in the oven must come down at the table...As the souffle bubbles cool, the air they
contain contracts in volume, and the vapor that come from liquid water in the mix condenses back into liquid...A thick souffle mix can't rise as easily, but it also
won't fall as easily...Don't worry about opening the oven door. The mix can't fall unless it actually begins to cool down, and even if that did happen, it will rise again
when it heats up again."
Souffle recipes through time
"No. 1. --Souffle of Potatoes with Lemon.
"No. 2.--Souffle of Orange Flower.
"No. 4.--Souffle of Bread.
"No. 6.--Souffle of Chocolate.
"Omelette Souffle."
[1869]
"Cheese souffle
Omelet souffle with lemon
[1903]
Souffles.
[1941]
"Vanilla omelette souffle
"Eggs, preserved (ancient eggs, century eggs, hundred year-eggs, Ming Dynasty eggs, or
thousand-year eggs): Eggs coated with a claylike mixture of lime, ashes and salt, then buried in
shallow earth for about 100 days. The lime "petrifies" the the eggs: makes the whites firm,
gelatinous and amber-coloured; the yolks, spinach-green and cheeselike. (The Chinese call these
"eggs with skin" because of their black outer coating. The English names, although romantic and
exaggerated, describe their antique appearance--they do look as though they've been buried for
centuries.) Preserved eggs usually are eaten uncooked for breakfast or as hors d'oeuvres, and
served frequently at banquets."
"Most interesting of Chinese preserved eggs...are the so-called thousand-year-old eggs (also called hundred-year-old eggs,
ancient eggs, or Ming Dynasty eggs), a delicacy unusual in appearance, odor, texture, and flavor, and usually bought in the
market rather than made at home. Despite their name, thousand-year-old eggs are usually cured for just a few months, and are said to
be most tasty at about a hundred days. The eggs of chickens and other birds may be processed into thousand-year-eggs, but duck
eggs are the commmon ones used. This, and the importance of duck eggs in preservation by salting, probably derives from the fact
that they are produced only in localized habitats suited to ducks and need to be shipped to market, yet spoil more quickly than
chicken eggs...Various methods of curing, from simple to elaborate, may be followed in making thousand-year-old-eggs. As detailed
by Kenneth Lo...salt is first dissolved in a small amount of water in a large bowl; then pine ash and lime are slowly added, and the
micture stirred until it reaches a muddy consistency. A thick layer of the mixture is applied to clean duck eggs, which are then rolled in a
tray of husks, of rice or some other kind, to give them a non-adhesive coat to prevent them from sticking to anything. Then they are
placed in a big earthenware jar which is covered loosely and left to stand. The eggs are removed everyt three days and rearranged in \
the jar, and after fifteen days the jar is sealed and left for another month. At that time, after 45 days in total, the eggs
should...be ready. A more length procedure...one involving an initial three months of soaking the eggs in a brine made of
water, salt, lime, lye, and tea leaves. Then the eggs are dried, covered with a paste of clay, lime, ashes, and salt, and buried
in the earth for further aging.
By whatever
process, the end product has a yolk that is green and resembles cheese, and a white that is yellow or amber and of a gelatinous
consistency. In eating a thousand-year-old egg, one must first remove the mud and carefully clean its shell. Then one normally
eats the egg, which has the smell of ammonia, uncooked. It may be eaten with hot rice for breakfast or a late night supper, or
cut into pieces and served as a snack with soy sauce, sometimes garnished with gingerroot strips or slices, or with a sauce made
of vinegar and shredded ginger...Such eggs may also be prepared in other ways, as in 'Fried 100-Year-Old-Eggs'...or 'Old and Fresh
Eggs,' a steamed dish that includes both thousand year-old egg yolks and fresh eggs...The ultimate in combining types of eggs...is
'Steamed Three Variety Eggs,' which includes in a single dish thousand-year-old eggs, salted eggs, and fresh ones."
What is clarification?
"Clarification is the process of clearing a liquid of suspended particles...In the kitchen,
things which may need clarification are stock, clear soup, aspic, jelly, etc. The agents of
clarification are various. Filtration is simplest but will not catch the smallest particles. A
change in temperature may suffice, if followed by drawing off the liquid from above or
from below. Or hunter-catchers' may be let loose in pursuit of the particles, as when egg
white and eggshell are employed or a few slices of potato are heated in used cooking oil.
Even more drastic are the hunter-killers', in the shape of proteolytic or pectolytic
enzymes which do not merely trap the offending material but destroy it."
"Clarification. The process of rendering a turbid or cloudy substance clear...Clarification
of beef stock involves using...egg white...When the broth boils, the egg whites coagulate,
trapping the particles that were making the liquid cloudy. The consequent loss in flavour
is restored by the lean beef and vegetables."
The Exploratorium offers this explanation.
[1886]
[1896]
[1901]
Samuel P. Arnold, respected American west food historian and founder of
The Fort in Colorado, noted that crushed egg shells
were sometimes for making campfire coffee.
Additional recipes here:
A survey of historic American preservation instructions:
"To choose eggs
To keep eggs
"To keep eggs til 17th of June, or for Christmas
"To preserve eggs
"To choose eggs
To keep eggs
"To keep eggs
"Keep eggs in a cool, not cold place. Pack in bran or salt, with the small end downward, if you
wish to use within two or three weeks; and furthermore, take the precaution to grease them well
with linseed oil, or wash them over with a weak solution of gum tragacanth or varnish. This
excludes the air. Another way is to make some pretty strong lime-water, allowing a pound of
lime
to a gallon of boiling water. When perfectly cold, fill a large jar with it in which you have packed
the eggs, small end downward; lay a light saucer upon the top to keep them under water, and
keep in a cool place. Renew the lime-water every three weeks. You may add an ounce of
saltpetre
to it. Eggs for boiling may be "canned' as follows; So soon as they are brought in from the nests,
put two or three dozen at a time in a deep pan; pour scalding water over them; let it stand thirty
seconds, and turn it all off. Cover immediately with more scalding water, and repeat the process
yet the third time. Wipe dry, and pack in bran or salt when they cool. This hardens the albumen
into an air-tight case for the yolk. Of course, you cannot use these eggs for cake or syllabubs, or
anything that is prepared with whipped eggs. Pack with the small end down."
"Putting eggs down
About culinary research & about copyright
---""Eggs From Foreign Lands," New York Times, June 14, 1883 (p. 8)
"...pay twenty-five or thirty cents a dozen..."
---Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Mrs. D.A. Lincoln, facsimile 1884 edition [Dover Publications:Mineola NY] 1996 (p. 198)
"How to Pack Eggs. Receivers have a good deal of trouble with eggs that come in loose packages, have not been properly packed, and arrive more or less broken. When
cases are not used, the barrel is the next best package. In packing, oats should not be used, because they are heavy and increase the cost of shipment, and the eggs
are apt to work through, and coming in contact with one another, there is sure to be some breakage if great care is not taken. By using straw the eggs can be got through
in good shape and are in suitable condition for reshipping, provided the proper rules have been followed. In using straw, see that it is clean and dry so that there will be no
musty smell. The eggs should be laid with the ends toward the outside of the barrel. Betweeen each layer of eggs there should be a thick layer of straw. See that plenty of
straw is placed between the eggs and the sides of the barrel. A barrel, if properly packed, should not have more than about sixty or sixty-five dozen. When the package is
filled, place considerable straw over the top, put the head of the barrel in securely, and then mark the package plainly: Eggs, so many dozen; and all is complete, and a
good condition is certain."
---The Grocer's Hand-Book and Directory for 1886 [Philadelphia Grocer Publishing Co.:Philadelphia] 1886 (p. 67-68)
What size were the eggs in Ancient Rome?
Our food history sources offer much information on the production, consumption and preparation of poultry eggs in the
Ancient world but scant references to size or weight. Those references suggest eggs came in different sizes.
Then, as today, season, breed, feed, and cooping conditions played key roles. Primary agricultural accounts (Cato, Varro, Columella, Pliny) are your
best sources for researching this topic.
---Animals for Show and Pleasure in Ancient Rome, George Jennison, facsimile 1937 edition [University of Pennsylvania
Press:Philadelphia] 2005 (p. 106)
---Geoponika [Farm Work], a modern translation of the Roman and Byzantine Farming Handbook by Andrew Dalby [Prospect Books:Devon]
2011(p. 288) [NOTE: Domesticated fowl & their eggs are also addressed in section 7.]
Egg sizes the USA
What size hen's egg was used to make a cake in the 1840s? Excellent question with no simple answer. Today's consumers find
eggs clearly marked with quality grades in different sizes. In the 1840s, many consumers found eggs under the chicken in the
family coop. Pre-industrial American cook books regularly acknowledge the relationship between fresh eggs and best product
but are silent on size. Cook books focus on identifying "good" eggs, proper storage, and preservation techniques.
In those days, the size of chicken eggs depended upon breed, feed, season and cooping conditions.
"Eggs vary so much in size and weight (varying according to the breed of the fowl), that it is claimed in justice to the consumer, they should be sold by weight and
not by number."
---Grocer's Companion and Merchant's Hand-Book [New England Grocer Office:Boston] 1883 (p. 53)
"The average weight of twenty eggs laid by fowls of different breeds is two and one-eighth pounds. The breeds that lay the largest eggs, average seven to a pound,
are Black Spanish, Houdans, La Fleches, and Creve Coeures. Eggs of medium size and weight, averaging eight or nine to a pound, are laid by Leghorns, Cochins,
Brahmins, Polands, Dorkings, Games, Sultans. Hamburgs lay about ten eggs to a pound. Thus there is a difference of three eggs in one pound weight. Hence it is
claimed that in justice to the consumer eggs should be sold by weight."
---The Grocers' Hand-Book and Directory, Artemas Ward [Philadelphia Grocer Publishing:Philadelphia] 1886 (p. 67)
"A pound of eggs (nine)is equivalent in nutritive value to a pound of beef. From this it may be seen that eggs, even at twenty-five cents per dozen, should not be
freely used by the strict economist."
---
Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Fannie Merritt Farmer (p. 92)
"...to the man who handles [eggs] between the farm and the breakfast table there are Fancy Fresh, Fresh Gathered, Storage Packed, Storage, Limed, Known
Marks, Extras, Firsts, Seconds, Dirties, Checks, etc....There is a wide difference in the weight of eggs--although all cooking receipts say 'take two eggs,' or whatever number
seems suitable, without any allowance for variations is size! The breeds that lay the largest eggs, averaging seven to a pount, are the Black Spanish, Light Brahma, Houdan, La
Fleche, and Creve Coeur. Eggs of medium size and weight, averaging eight or nine to a pound, are laid by the Leghorn, Cochin, Minorca, Red Cap, Poland, Dorking and
Games. Hamburg eggs average about ten to the pound. There is thus a difference of three eggs in one pound of weight. The average weight of twenty eggs laid by different breeds
is 2 1/8 pounds...The size of the egg varies also with the care and treatment of the fowls. Those from the South formerly averaged small for all breeds, but a marked improvement
has been noticeable during recent years."
---"Eggs,"
Grocer's Encyclopedia, Artemas Ward
"Fresh gathered extras...extra firsts...firsts...seconds and lower grades...fresh gathered, dirties...checks...refrigerator, special marks, fancy, seasons storage....firsts
on dock...seconds...thirds...refrigerator whites...hennery browns...fancy large new laid...selected whites..."
---"Country Produce Markets, New York Times, December 7, 1912 (p. 19)
""Eggs...There was a better trading in fresh-gathered eggs and dealers are still on the market looking for desirable qualities...The seriously mixed and lowed grades
are quiet and irregular. Storage eggs are wanted beyond the supply available and prices are naturally strong, with profit limitations having more effect on prices than
differences in quality within reasonable limits. Nearby white eggs of strictly fancy quality and large size are scarce and firm. The bulk of the supply is mixed in size or
quality and is moving slowly at a wide range at comparatively easy prices. Some further sales of Californias of prime quality at 88 c; fresh-gathered extras...extra
firsts...firsts... seconds... undergrades... dirties, No. 1... & No. 2 and poorer...check good to choice, dry...undergrades...refrigerator."
---"Butter and Egg Market," New York Times, November 23, 1918 (p. 15)
"It will be noted that in the formulas, as well as in the remixes, toppings and fillings, eggs are specified by weight. Formulas calling for a given number of Shell Eggs
or a given number of Whites or Yolks are essentially inaccurate, because of the fact that eggs vary so much in size. A thirty-dozen case of small eggs my yield only
thirty pounds of egg meat. A case of extremely large eggs would yield thirty-eight or thirty-nine pounds, the maximum being at least 25% more than the minimum. If
Shell Eggs are used in the bakery, the following conversion basis will be adaptable for use where small amounts of eggs are called for; 1 lb Whole Egg equals 9 to
11 Shell Eggs, 1 lb Whites equals 17 to 20 Whites, 1 lb. Sugar Yolk equals 19 to 22 Yolks."
---A Treatise on Baking, Julius E. Wihlfahrt [Fleischmann Division, Standard Brands Inc.:New York] 1927 (p. 396)
[NOTE: Commericial baking texts generally promote powdered egg substitutes over fresh shell eggs for product consistency.]
""Eggs--Prices...white henneries large...white henneries small...Government graded and dated white eggs; U.S. extras, large...medium...U.S. standards, large."
---"Washington Produce," Washington Post, December 1, 1932 (p. 14)
"Size and Shape. Quality eggs should have a ... weight of at least 24 ounces per dozen, and should be uniform in size. A 23-ounce egg and a 25-ounce egg in the same carton
will pass, but if one 28-ounce egg should be included in the carton, the customer gets the impression that all the other eggs are small, even though they may be 24-ounce eggs.
Odd-shaped eggs should be culled out and not included in the carton."
---Purina Poultry Guide [Ralston Purina Company:St. Louis MO] 1933, first edition (p. 52)
""There is a tendency for body size to be associated with egg size; that is, in any given flock the largest birds usually lay the largest eggs. Most poultry breeders and
flock owners could do quite a bit toward increasing the average size of eggs laid by the flock as a whole by culling out the smallest birds every year. Among the
birds that are left, those that lay very small eggs should be culled rather than used in the breeding pen. This is quite important because it has been found that pullets
that lay very small eggs at commencement of laying are very likely to lay small eggs for the rest of the year. Also, it has been found that in many cases the heavier
producers in a high-laying strain lay smaller eggs than the average producers. This is not to say that high production and good egg size cannot be combined in the
same bird, for this has been accomplished a thousand times over by poultry breeders...One of the most important things to keep in mind in developing a strain noted
for good egg size is to select males as breeders that are the sons of dams that lay a good-sized egg. The market standard is a 2-ounce egg, and that is why females
qualifying for record of performance are required to lay 200 eggs or more averaging at least 2 ounces in weight."
---Yearbook of Agriculture 1936, U. S. Department of Agriculture [Government Printing Office:Washington DC]
1937 (p. 981-982)
"Eggs--Receipts...fancy to extra fancy...extras...storage packed firsts...graded firsts...seconds...mediums...dirties..
.No 2....Refrigerator firsts...seconds...Resale of nearby heavier mediums."
---"New York Produce," Washington Post, February 3, 1940 (p. 22)
""The U.S. Department of Agriculture has recommended new letter grades--AA, A, B, C--which makes everything much simpler. The new grades correspond
almost exactly to the old ones, that is, the quality of AA eggs is the same as that of the 'special' variety, and A eggs are equivalent to the former 'extras.'...This
improved labeling system was approved by the department in December...although merchants are not ordered to adopt it; it is hoped they will...These grades
indicate only quality and condition, an expert points out, and have nothing whatever to do with color or weight. With regard to the latter, the department gives the
following classifications: 'jumbo' size weigh about twenty-eight ounces a dozen; 'extra large,' twenty-six; 'large,' twenty-four; 'medium,' twenty-one, and small,'
eighteen. And it advises that customers pay careful attention to these weights when they buy, for they determine the amount of food value."
---"News of Food...Grading Eggs by Letter Seen as Help," Jane Holt, New York Times, February 13, 1943 (p. 15)
""Eggs...Size (minimum standards) Large--24 oz. per doz., Medium--10 1/2 oz. per doz., Small--17 oz. per doz...1 medium egg, 1 3/4-2 oz."
---America's Cook Book, New York Herald Tribune Home Institute, new and revised edition [Charles Scriber's Sons:New York]
1946 (p. 917)
""The grade of an egg refers to its quality as determined by candling...Within each grade, eggs are reclassed as to size of weight. You will find these weight classes
marked on each carton in addition to the grade of the eggs. Eggs marked 'Jumbo' must weigh a minimum of 30 ounces per dozen., 'Extra Large,' 27 ounces per
dozen; 'Large,' 24 ounces per dozen; 'Medium,' 21 ounces per dozen; and 'Small,' 18 ounces per dozen."
---"Relative Quality of Graded Eggs," Ask Anne, Washington Post, December 8, 1948 (p. B6)
"Eggs are graded on the basis of outside appearance, weight, and interior quality. They come in several official sizes: Extra large (26 ounces or 1 pound 11 ounces
per dozen), Large (24 ounces, or 1 pound 11 ounces per dozen), Medium (21 ounces or 1 pound 5 ounces per dozen), Small (18 ounces or 1 pound 2 ounces
per dozen). The smaller eggs are usually more plentiful in late summer or early fall. The size never affects the quality of the eggs, but it does affect the price, with the
smaller eggs, naturally, costing less."
---Betty Furness Westinghouse Cook Book, prepared under the direction of Julia Kiene [Simon and Schuster:New York] 1954
(p. 272)
"Section 56.218. Weight classes (a) The weight classes of the U.S. Consumer Grades of Shell Eggs shall be indicated in
Table 1 of this section and shall apply to all
consumer grades...Jumbo, Extra large, Large, Medium, Small, Peewee."
---20 Federal Register 677, February 1, 1955
[NOTES: (1)US federal government egg size definitions first surface in 1943. They are invariably connected with product
grades. (2) Early federal standards were encouraged, but not required. Most states imposed their own standards on the egg trade,
which were sometimes stricter than federal recommendations. Consumers were actively encouraged to look for USDA graded (optional)
markings on their egg products for quality assurance. (3) Table II (p. 679) sets forth weight classes for United States Wholesale Grades for Shell Eggs.
This chart
omits 'Jumbo' designation. (4) section 7 CFR 56.218 does not exist in 2012. Current 7 CFR 56 describes
"Voluntary grading of eggs," no references
to weight or size.]
"New York housewives will find jumbo eggs in the markets soon. Jumbo is a new weight classification in a revised list announced
today by the State Agriculture Department. The department said the revisions would give New York poultrymen a better break in a
highly competitive market. To be labeled jumbo, a dozen eggs must weigh thirty ounces or more. Other sizes and weights are: Extra
large, 27 to 30 ounces; large, 24 to 27 ounces; medium, 21 to 24 ounces; small 18 to 21 ounces, and peewee, less than 18 ounces."
---"New Jumbo Egg Size Approved for Markets," New York Times, June 24, 1957 (p. 57)
[NOTE: the "new" jumbo size designation is not federal, it's for New York State.]
"Size has nothing to do with the quality of an egg. Jumbo eggs are largest and which at least 30 oz. a dozen. Extra large
eggs weight 27 oz. or more a dozen; large, 24 oz,; medium, 21 oz.; small, 18 oz, and peewees, smaller. Most recipes such as cakes and
cookies call for large eggs. But medium eggs are often a better buy. An extra breakfast egg may be served hearty eaters and extra
eggs may be added to recipes in which the amount of egg is critical. Shell color also has nothing to do with the quality of an
egg. Brown, white or mixed-color eggs graded AA are of top quality."
---"Quality Tips Grade AA: There's Good Egg," Los Angeles Times, December 13, 1962 (p. E18)
"Recipes in this book are based on 2-ounce eggs, usually described as 'large.' In many recipes it is unimportant if a little more or a
little less egg is used."
---Fannie Farmer Cookbook, revised by Wilma Lord Perkins, 11th edition [Little, Brown and Company:Boston] 1965 (p. 7)
"What size eggs should you buy? Labeling of eggs by size as well as quality follows a suggested U.S. Department of Agriculture grading scheme. It is based on the
weight of one dozen eggs, and it defines six sizes ranging from Jumbo down to Peewee. But most shoppers are confronted with only three descriptive sizes, and it
is refreshing to be able to state that their meaning is much more specific than is usually the case on packages in the supermarket: Extra Large, 27 ounces per dozen,
Large, 24 ounces per dozen, Medium, 21 ounces per dozen. The USDA standard suggest that, as long as the whole carton of eggs meets is minimum weight
requirement, individual eggs may be 1/12 ounce below weight. Thus, a few eggs in a dozen labeled Large might weigh 1 11/12 ounces, but others would have to be
heavier so that the average came to at least 2 ounces. New York's state law is much more rigid, and uniquely so among the 50 states. In New York no egg in a
carton marked Large may weigh less than 2 ounces, and so the consumer would receive a slightly larger average egg in New York than in other states--if the law
were enforced. But evidently the strict New York weight regulation is no more meaningful than the state's comparatively stringent quality tolerances. In CU's
sampling, about 10% of the eggs graded weighed less than 2 ounces. As with quality, USDA-graded cartons same closer to the mark than company-graded
cartons: Cartons below New York state weight minimum (Federal-state graded 6%, Company graded 14%). It looks as though you get larger quantity along with
better quality by choosing USDA-graded eggs rather than company-graded ones. But with eggs the problem of quantity has another, more elusive side to it. Prices
of various sizes of eggs fluctuate during the year. Especially in the late summer and fall, Small and Medium eggs are likely to be in plentiful supply and, ounce for
ounce, may be a better buy than the Large eggs. The USDA has worked out a table for the guidance of shoppers, and some women might want to keep a copy of
it in their purse for ready reference. Here it is: Assmuing a single quality grade, if Extra Large eggs cost 54 cents per doz., large eggs are a better buy at less than 47
cents per doz. and Medium eggs are a better buy at less than 41 cents per doz."
---"Are the eggs you buy making the grade?" Consumer Reports, February 1966 (p. 66)
[Chart offers 8 additional price points, ranging from 59-94 cents Extra Large eggs, dozen.]
"Buying eggs has changed a lot in the past fifty years--and much for the better, too. It used to be that a farmer's wife had her own
flock of laying hens. She fed them scraps, a bit of grain, and turned them out to 'pick' in summer. Even farmer who was in the business of
producing eggs used pretty haphazard methods compared to today's standard of excellence...Today, the mass production of this very
important food is strictly scientific, And you, the modern homemaker, benefit. Imperfect and low-quality eggs never even reach
your supermarket. Now eggs can be sorted out according to size and quality, so that you know exactly what you are buying...Here are
some simple guidelines: Each egg sizes has a minimum weight per dozen: Jumbo--1 lb., 14 oz., Extra Large--1 lb., 11 oz., Large--
1 lb., 8 oz., Medium--1 lb., 5 oz., Small--1 lb., 2 oz., Peewee--15 oz. The size does not affect the quality, but does affect the
price. There are four grades of eggs: AA, A, B and C. Of these, AA and A are the best quality for all purposes, especially in
recipes where appearance is important, such as poaching, hard-cooking in the shell and frying. Grade B eggs are suitable for use in
scrambling, baking and recipes where they are mixed with other ingredients. In a high quality egg, the white is thick and stands
up well around a firm, high yolk. Grade C eggs are rarely found in retail stores."
---"Egg Sizes and Grades," Chicago Daily Defender, May 11, 1967 (p. 27)
"A reader of Harper's Weekly recently wrote a letter to the editor asking why big eggs cost more than little eggs. The letter said
size-12 shoes or socks cost no more than smaller sizes, although they contain more material. It also said that if you buy
foodstuffs other than eggs in bulk, it's their total weight, not their size but unit, that determines the price. What then, is
the justification for charging more for jumbo eggs than for peewee eggs? The letter-writer suspects that the price
difference just
pays for the machines that sort the big ones from the little ones. Because Harper's Weekly has been laggard in answering the reader's
question, we thought we would look into it. The answer is because big eggs cost more than little eggs because big eggs
are laid by bigger hens. Pullets lay peewees and don't eat much. Old hens heading for the stewpot lay jumbos and eat a lot.
That's what it comes down to--chicken feed. Still, we can't accept that as a good reason. It seems to us that the overall price of
eggs might be lower if the egg people got rid of their sorting machines and sold their eggs by the pound--big and little ones together.
The egg people agree that it might lower prices. But they won't do it. They won't do it because consumers have a hangup on big
eggs. They think they're better than little eggs. They're not. In fact, the bigger the egg, the runnier it is. Little eggs
hold together better and don't stream all over the frying pan...There is...no nutritional difference--big or little--between
big and little eggs. That's myth. Just like the myth that it's worth paying more for brown eggs because they're tastier and more
nutritious than white eggs. They're not. Brown eggs cost more than white eggs because they're laid by hens that are bigger at
the same age--and eat more--than the hens that lay white eggs of exactly the same size. OK?"
---"The Egg and You," Los Angeles Times, May 4, 1975 (p. H2)
Boiled eggs
Food historians confirm people have been eating eggs from prehistoric times forward. Cooking methods and recipes vary according to period, place and taste.
Boiling is thought to have been developed after roasting and baking, as it required both receptacles capable of holding water and a method for heating that water to
212 degrees F. (100 C). Soft boiled eggs were generally considered more digestible and refined.
"Cooking times for in-shell eggs are determined by the desired texture (they also depend on egg size, starting temperature, and
cooking temperature; the times here are rough averages)...The French oeuf a la coque ('from the shell') is cooked for only two or three minutes and remains semi-liquid
throughout. Coddled or 'soft boiled' eggs, cooked 3 to 5 minutes, have a barely solid outer white, a milky inner white, and a warm
yolk, and are spooned from the shell. The less familiar mollet eggs (from the French molle, 'soft'), cooked for 5 to 6 minutes, have a
semi-liquid yolk but a sufficiently firm outer white that they can be peeled and served whole."
---On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, Harold McGee, completely revised and updated [Scribner:New York]
2004 (p. 88)
---Larousse Gastronomique [Crown Publishers:New York] 1961 (p. 374-375)
"The Egyptians ate eggs of all birds...The Eighteenth Dynasty tomb of Haremhed at Thebes has an illustration of a pelican and a basket of eggs. Eggs were easily obtained and were recommended as wholesome food, being consumed hard- or soft-boiled, fried, poached, and used as a binding agent in cookery, especially in souffles and sauces...Goose eggs had to be lightly boiled; otherwise they were indigestible...Anthimus noted approvingly that a person could eat as many eggs as he or she wanted, but the correct way to prepare eggs was to place them in cold water and cook them over a low flame...Hard-boiled eggs were regarded as a more substantial food."
---Food in the Ancient World, Joan P. Alcock [Greenwood Press:Westport CT] 2006 (p. 75)
"Quails, and later domestic hens, were kept partly for their eggs, oion. These, hard- or soft-boiled, were served among desserts; egg yolk and egg white were ingredients in certain dishes."
---Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece, Andrew Dalby [Routledge::London] 1997 (p. 65)
"From Apicius' cookery book we learn that [the Romans] sometimes boiled their eggs and served them with simple sauces."
---Food & Drink in Britain: From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson [Academy Chicago:Chicago IL] 1991 (p. 138)
"No foodstuff was more commonly consumed in the Middle Ages than chicken eggs--with the single exception of bread...Eggs in particular were vitally important in the cookery of the time in part simply because they were common and relatively cheap. A second reason for the universal popularity of eggs in late-medieval cookery was probably that which accounts for their continuing popularity today...versatility...In our recipe collections plain eggs are boiled, fried, scrambled...roasted...and poached. And eggs, liquid and hard-boiled, yolks and whites together or separated, entered into mixture for a very large number of prepared dishes."
---Early French Cookery: Sources, History, Original Recipes and Modern Adaptations, D. Eleanor Scully and Terence Scully [University of Michigan Press:Ann Arbor] 1995 (p. 230)
---Food & Drink in Britain (p. 144, 146)
"Italians in the sixteenth century used hard-boiled eggs to garnish salads...Aldrovandi assures us that the practice was a common one throughout Europe."
---The Chicken Book, Page Smith and Charles Daniel [University of Georgia Press:Athens GA] 2000 (p. 367)
"Louis XV ate boiled eggs every Sunday...Parisians some in whole families to admirer their sovereign's dexterity with an egg. In an almost religious hush, he would knock the small end off the egg with a single stroke of his fork, while an officer of the table called for attention, announcing, 'The King is about to eat his egg!'"
---History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, translated by Anthea Bell [Barnes & Noble Books:New York] 1992 (p. 359)
Food historians confirm boiled eggs have been consumed from prehistoric times forward. Eggs timed in minutes are usually cooked in their
shells. The hotter the water and longer the boil, the more solid the finished product. From ancient times forward, soft boiled eggs are generally
regarded as easier to digest. They were prescribed for invalids and preferred by wealthier classes. Four minute eggs fall in the
"soft-boiled" category. Poached and shirred eggs fall into the same general category, although their method
is more complicated and requires special equipment.
"...The fourth difference between eggs likes in the [culinary] preparation that is given them for eating...Those that are cooked on
hot coals may be hard or soft. The hard-cooked ones are gross and heavy, digest poorly in the stomach and engender crude
humors...The soft cooked ones are the opposite, for they soften the belly and stay only briefly in the stomach; they relieve a
dryness of the chest and lung. Those eggs that are between hard-and soft-cooked are unlike either and are better to eat than
either. Poached eggs strengthen natural warmth, especially when they are cooked to neither hard nor soft, because the
water eliminates their harmfulness, and they are better eaten that way than any other way. Fried eggs are the worst of all sorts of
preparation because they are converted into bad humors and engender vapors and nausea, and consequently are bad to eat. Eggs that are eaten in a broth or
with meat or in a similar was are to be praised or condemned depending on the substances with which they are combined: for if they are eaten with
good spices, such as cinnamon, pepper and ginger, and with meat, they are digested better and nourish better..."
---Early French Cookery: Sources, History, Original Recipes and Modern Adaptations, D. Eleanor Scully & Terence Scully
[University of Michigan Press:Ann Arbor MI] 2005 (p. 231)
[Ancient Rome]
"Boiled Eggs.
[Medieval France]
Ova elixa: liquamine, oleo, mero vel ex liquamine, pipere, lasere.
Bolied eggs: garum, oil wine or liquamen, pepper and laser. (Apicius 329)
[Modern interpretation] Prick a hole in each egg to let out the air, which might break the egg during boiling. Put the eggs into cold water. Bring to the boil and cook for about 5 minutes, then leave to cool. Peel the eggs and cut them in half. For 5 eggs, finely crush 1 clove of garlic with some pepper and 5 anchovies. Add the egg yolks and pound smooth. Add a little olive oil and a little wine and stir well. Pile the mixture into the egg whites."
Mox vetus et tenui maior cordyla lacerto, sed quam cum rutae frondibus ova tegebant.
The salted tunas, larger than a cordyla (a type of fish) were served, covering eggs with stalks of rue....
In ovus hapalis; piper, ligustcom, nucleos infousos. Suffundes mel, acetum; liquamine temperabis.
For soft-boiled eggs: pepper, soaked pine nuts. Add honey and vinegar and mix with garum. (Apicius 329)"
---Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome, Patrick Faas [Palgrave MacMillan:New York] 2003 (p. 315-316)
One should boil eggs in water whilst stirring them without pause; for when stirred they do not congeal or thicken; they are better boiled in vinegar; for then they stay still more moist...This recipe reads oddly; it makes sense only if the eggs are warmed in the shell rather than truly boiled. The constantly jostling in the shell will minimize coagulation, although given enough time, the eggs will firm up. The instruction that eggs are moistened boiled in vinegar may refer to the fact that if an eggshell contains a crack, the egg can leach out and solidify. If the egg is cooked in water containing vinegar, the vinegar will coagulate the escaping egg faster, sealing most of the egg in the shell."
---Cooking in Ancient Civilizations, Cathy K. Kaufman [Greenwood Press:Westport CT] 2006 (p. 165)
"There is no doubt that the menagier made great use of [eggs]. We are first given clear instructions about cooking eggs, and these are as valid today as they were six centuries ago.If you wet eggs and put them in boiling liquid, the yolk will not harden, but if you put them in without having wetted them first, they can become hard. If you want to hard-boil eggs, put them in simmering water and draw the pan to the side. Whether you want them hard- or soft-boiled, plunge them in cold water as soon as they are cooked and they will peel easily."
[19th Century France]
---Living and Dining in Medieval Paris: The Household of a Fourteenth Century Knight, Nicole Crossley-Holland [University of Wales Press:Cardiff] 1996 (p. 153)
"Boiled eggs.
[19th Century England]
Take 6 new-laid eggs; put 3 pints of water in a 2-quart stewpan; when the water boils, put in the eggs; cover the stewpan; boil for one minute; take off the fire, and let the eggs remain in the water for five minutes; take them out of the water; and serve them in a napkin."
---The Royal Cookery Book, Jules Gouffe, translated by Alphonse Gouffe [Sampson Low, Son and Marston:London] 1869 (p. 177)
"The usual time allotted for boiling eggs in the shell is 3 to 3 3/4 minutes: less time than than in boiling water will not be sufficient to solidify the white, and more will make the yolk hard and less digestible; it is very hard to guess accurately as to the time. Great care should be employed in putting them into the water, to prevent cracking the shell, which inevitably causes a portion of the white to exude, and lets water into the egg."
[19th Century USA]
---Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, Isabella Beeton, 1861, edited with an introduction and notes by Nicola Humble [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2000 (p. 321-322)
"To Boil Eggs for Breakfast
[20th Century France]
The fresher they are the longer time they will require for boiling. If you wish them quite soft, put them into a saucepan of water that is boiling hard at the moment, and let them remain in it
five minutes. The longer they boil the harder they will be. In ten minutes' fast boiling they will be hard enough for salad. If you use one of the tin egg-boilers that are placed on the table, see
that the water is boiling hard at the time you put in the eggs. When they have been in about four or five minutes, take them out, pour off the water, and replace it by some more that is boiling
hard; as, from the coldness of the eggs having chilled the first water, they will not otherwise be done enough. The boiler may then be placed on the talbe, (keeping the lid closed,) and in a few minuntes
more the will be sufficiently cooked to be wholesome."
---Directions for Cookery in its Various Branches, Miss [Eliza] Leslie [Carey & Hart:Philadelphia] 1849 (p. 207)
"1291...Method of Preparing Soft Boiled Eggs:
Place the eggs into boiling water and allow 6 minutes from the time the water reboils; cool in cold water and immediately shell them, reheat in hot water as for poached eggs. The
Dressing and Serving of...Soft-Boiled Eggs: Before being used the eggs must be well drained on a clean cloth. They are usually dressed in one of the following ways
1) On plain or decorated Croutons of bread fried in clarified butter--oval shape for poached eggs and round for soft-boiled eggs.
2) on shapes of cooked puff pastry--round for soft-boiled eggs.
3) in a border of forcemeat of other similar mixture according to the requirements of the recipe. These borders are made with a piping bag and tube or moulded on buttered dishes; these
can be round or oval, and plain or decorated...
4) in pale baked tartlet cases filled with a garnish according to the particular recipe being used..."
Although the cooking of hard-boiled eggs may seem to be an insignificant operation the correct timing of the cooking is essential. It is of no use to cook them for longer than the exact time because overcooking will toughen the white and disclour the yolk. To ensure a uniform cooking time for a number of eggs, place them into a basket or receptacle with large holes and immerse completely in a pan of boiling water; when it reboils allow 8 minutes for medium eggs and 10 minutes for large ones. As soon as they are cooked, remove and plunge them immediately into cold water; shell the eggs without breaking them."
---Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, Escoffier, [1907] translated by H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufmann [John Wiley & Sons:New York] 1979 (p. 155-156)
Deviled eggs
The origin of deviled eggs can't be attributed to one specific person, company, date or town. It is
a culinary amalgam of history and taste. The concept of deviled eggs begins with Ancient Rome.
Spicy stuffed eggs were known in 13th century Andalusia. The name is an 18th century invention.
"28. Stuffed eggs
Make fresh eggs hard by cooking for a long time. Then, when the shells are removed, cut the eggs
through the middle so that the white is not damaged. When the yolks are removed, pound part
with raisins and good cheese, some fresh and some aged. Reserve part to color the mixture, and
also add a little finely cut parsley, marjoram, and mint. Some put in two or more egg whites
withspices. When the whites of the eggs have been stuffed with this mixture and closed, fry them
over slow fire in oil. When they have been fried, add a sauce made from the rest of the egg yolks
pounded with raisins and moistened with verjuice and must. Put in ginger, cloves, and cinnamon
and heat them a little while with the eggs themselves. This has more harm than good in it."
---Platina: on the Right Pleasure and Good Health, Critical edition and translation of
De Honesta Voluptate et Valetudine, Mary Ella Milham [Medival & Renaissance Texts &
Studies:Tempe AZ] 1998
---Food and Drink in Britain, C. Anne Wilson [Academy Chicago Publishers:Chicago]
1991 (p. 144)
"To Farce Eggs
Where the devil?
Take eight or ten eggs and boil them hard. Peel off the shells and cut every egg in the middle; then
out the yolks. Make your farcing stuff as you do for flesh, saving only you must put butter into it
instead of suet, and that a little. So done, fill your eggs where the yolks were, and then bring them
and seethe them a little. And so serve them to the table."
---The Good Housewife's Jewel, Thomas Dawson, with an introduction by Maggie Black
[London 1596] (p. 86)
Fry some parsley, some minced leeks, and young onions, when you have fried them pour them
into a dish season them with salt and pepper, and put to them hard eggs cut in halves, put some
mustard to them, and dish the eggs, mix the sauce well together, and pour it hot on the
eggs."
---The Accomplisht Cook, Robert May [London, 5th edition 1685] (p. 435)
[NOTE: Robert May's text lists six ways "To dress hard eggs divers ways." Though none
of these recipes are specifically called "deviled" they are strikingly similar to the deviled eggs we
are served today.
Sodde Egges: Seeth your Egges almost harde, then peele them and cut them in quarters, then
take a little Butter in a frying panne and melt it a little broune, then put to it in to the panne, a
little Vinegar, Mustarde, Pepper and Salte, and then put it into a platter upon your Egges."
---A Taste of History: 10,000 Years of Food in Britain, Tudor Britain, Peter Brears
[British Museum Press:London] 1997 (p.162)
---Oxford English Dictionary (the 1786 reference is the first use of this word in print.
Words are often part of the oral language long before they appear in print).
---The Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford]
1999 (pages 247-248).
[James Boswell lived from 1740-1795, Dr. Johnson's biography was published in 1791]
History of the Underwood
Company
Devilled Biscuits...Butter some biscuits on both sides, and pepper them well, make a paste of
either chopped anchovies, or fine cheese, and spread it on the biscuit, with mustard and cayenne
pepper, and grill them."
---The Jewish Manual, by A Lady [London:1846] (p. 98)
---The Dinner Question, or How to Dine Well and Economically, Tabitha Tickletooth,
[London:1860] (p. 51)
[1882]
"Devilled Eggs
Boil six or eight eggs hard; leave in cold water until they are cold; cut in halves, slicing a bit of the
bottoms to make them stand upright, a la Columbus. Extract the yolks, and rub to a smooth paste
with a very little melted butter, some cayenne pepper, a touch of mustard, and just a dash of
vinegar. Fill the hollowed whites with this, and send to table upon a bed of chopped cresses,
seasoned with pepper, salt, vinegar, and a little sugar. The salad should be two inches thick, and
an egg be served with a heaping tablespoonful of it. You may use lettuce or white cabbage instead
of cresses."
---Common Sense in the Household: A Manual of Practical Housewifery, Marion
Harland [Scribner:New York] 1882 (p. 246).
"Eggs, Devilled
If to be served hot, boil the eggs hard, and quarter or slice them, then lay them in a stewpan with
enough gravy to cover them. Gravy a la Diable will be found excellent; but a plainer one can be
made on the same principle by using a cheaper stock. A few drops of anchovy sauce is an
improvement. Serve as soon as the eggs are hot throught, sith strips of dry toast, or put croutons
round the dish.(p. 594)
Required: half a pint of clear brown stock...half an ounce of arrowroot, a tablespoonful of claret,
a teaspoonful of French mustard, a dessertspoonful of Worcester sauce, and a little soluble
cayenne, with salt to taste, and a few drops of soy. Mix the thickening with the claret, and the rest
of the ingredients, and boil for a few minutes. Serve with kidneys, steaks, &etc., or with grilled
fish. For a hotter sauce, increaes the Worcester sauce, or boil a few capsicum seeds in the gravy."
(p. 85)
---Cassell's New Universal Cookery Book, Lizzie Heritage [Cassell and
Company:London] 1894.
"Devilled Eggs
Boil eggs twenty minutes and when cool shell. Cut into halves crosswise and remove the yolks
without breaking the whites. Put the whites of the same egg together, that they need not get
separated. The yolks may be put in the bowl. Whe all are cut, rub the yolks to a c ream with
melted butter, add a little made mustard or sauce from the chow chow bottle a little pickle or
pilces and salt and paprika to season. Fill the mixture into the whites, put the halves together as
they belong, and as if preparing them for the picnic basket fasten together with a couple of little
Japanese wooden tooth picks before wrapping in waxed paper. The picks serve as handles in
eating. If they are to be put on the home table press the halves together and arrange on a bed of
cress or lettuce. For a change, finely minced meat highly seasoned is often added to the yolks. The
devilled mixture that will be left over makes a spicy filling for sandwiches. Another way of using
devilled eggs is to spread the yolk mixture left over on a shallow baking dish, place the eggs on it
and cover with a thin cream sauce, veal or chicken gravy. Sprinkle with buttered crumbs and bake
until the crumbs are delicate brown. A grating of cheese may be incorporated with the crumbs, if
desired."
--- New York Evening Telegram Cook Book, Emma Paddock Telford [New York
Evening Telegram:New York] 1908 (p. 28-9).
"Deviled Eggs.
Remove the yolks from six hard-cooked eggs and force therm through a fine sieve. Add one teaspoonful of salt, one teaspooonful of dry mustard, one-half
teaspoonful of freshly ground, black pepper, one teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce, one-and-one-half tabelspoonfuls of chopped parsley, and at least a
tablespoonful of mayonnaise. Beat well wtih a fork till it forms a firm paste, adding more mayonnaise if necessary. Fill the white halves. using a pastry tube and
garnish wih chopped parsley or tiny strips of pimiento."
---Hors D'Oeuvre and Canapes With a Key to the Cocktail Party, James Beard [M. Barrows:New York] 1940 (p. 54)
"Deviled Eggs
Prepare: Hard-cooked eggs
Shell the eggs, cut them in halves, remove the yolks. Crush the yolks with a fork and work them
into a smooth paste with:
Mayonnaise, French dressing, cream or butter
Season the paste with:
Salt
Paprika
A little dry mustard (optional)
Fill the egg whites whith the paste and garnish the eggs with:
Chopped parsley or chives
Sliced olives, anchovies, capers, etc.
Paprika."
---The Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer [Bobbs-Merrill:Indianapolis] 1946 (p. 92).
Deep-fried deviled eggs
This departure from the usual is fun to do and fine to serve. After you have prepared your deviled
eggs, dip them in fork-beaten egg, then roll in fine bread crumbs. (And this can all be done in the
morning.) When cooking time comes, place the eggs in a frying basket (this is essential), and deep
fry at 365 degrees farenheit until brown. Serve at once."
---Martha Deane's Cooking for Compliments, Marian Young Taylor [M.Barrows:New
York] 1954 (p. 133).
Dried eggs
The earliest reference we find for dried egg albumen (aka desiccated eggs, dried eggs) in USA print is from the 1880s.
Newspaper articles suggest this product was invented to combat fresh egg shortages. A detailed description of this product in a
grocer's hand book [1883] suggests the item was readily available but not widely known. In the 1920s dried eggs became the focus of national
attention when imports became big business. Tariffs were legislated to protect domestic producers. Anti-Chinese sentiments were expressed. We assume some of these products were imported from that country. One decade later, California
producers were building factories to capitalize on growing consumer demands.
"Why not introduce an bill to compel Government vessels to carry desiccated eggs around the world, in order to discover whether
they would become mellow with time and change like wine or would undergo some other transformation."
---"Senator Vance's Cordage Bill," New York Times, March 19, 1880 (p. 1) [NOTE: this bill was rejected.]
"One of the most remarkable features of the market at present is the high price of eggs. They have not been dearer since the last
war. The supply is light-scarcely sufficient to meet the demand from the hotels, restaurants, and the bakers of the City.
Desiccated eggs, and everything else that can be used as a substitute for cooking purposes, are brought into requisition. Choice
fresh eggs from near points are worth 70 to 75 cents per dozen; those bought from the interior of this State and the West by
express trains, 55 to 60 cents, and limed eggs 50 cents and upward."
---"What May Be Bought in the New York Market," New York Times, January 30, 1881 (p. 9)
"A process has been devised by which the freshness of the egg is said to be maintained for years, resisting the
injurious effects of climate. It consists of the crystallization or desiccation of the egg, changing it into an amber-hued vitreous
substance, or consolidated mass of yolk and albumen, and materially reducing its bulk. When wanted for use, it is restored to its
original condition by adding the water which has been artificially removed. No salt or other foreign matter, it is said, is
employed in this process; for which the further merit is claimed that an egg ever so slightly tainted cannot be treated by it at all, and the
wholesomeness of the prepared product is thus assured."
---The Grocer's Companion and Merchant's Hand-Book, New England Grocer Office [Benjamin Johnson:Boston] 1883(p. 54)
In the 1910s, the US Dept. of Agriculture began keeping statistics on imports of commercially prepared egg products: egg and egg
yolks dried, frozen or prepared. Numbers were expressed in 1,000 pound units. In 1910-1911, total imports all imports in this
combined category were 433,000. By 1920, 28,768,000 pounds of these products entered American markets.
At this point, the USDA began reporting commercial egg products in more specific categories:
whole dried, whole frozen, yolks dried, yolks frozen, egg albumin dried and egg albumen frozen prepared and
preserved. Egg albumen, dried" statistics first appear in 1921-1922. In that year, 7,388,000 pounds
of this product entered USA markets. In 1933-1934, this number dropped to 308,000, recovering to 1,006,000 the following
year. SOURCE: Yearbook of Agriculture, US Dept. of Agriculture [US Government Printing Office:Washington DC] 1936
(p. 1173).
"Eggs enter into commerce in many forms in addition to those in the shell--including whole eggs removed from the shell and stored in cans
at a little below the freezing point, powdered yolks, crystallized whites, desiccated eggs, etc."
---Grocer's Encyclopedia, Artemas Ward [National Grocer:New York] 1911 (p. 224)
"Eggs, dried, yolk of eggs, dried, egg albumen including all dried egg products in this or other packages, 45 cents per
pound."
---"Bring the Turkey Poult to Maturity," Henry W. Kruckeberg, Los Angeles Times, June 5, 1921 (p. IX15)
"In the general discussion of the new tariff bill there is one time that has received by little publicity yet which is of
great importance to California...The duty on eggs is important to this State because of its status as an egg-producing center.
'Desiccated eggs (dried and frozen) are used by the bakery and confectionery trade and the importation of these two products is
considerable,' it was stated. 'According to the bureau of agricultural economics of the United States Department of
Agriculture, the imports of dried eggs whole, yolks and egg albumen, for the months of January and February of this year were
1,021,663 pounds, while that of the frozen product amounted to 713,226 pounds. 'From these figures...it will be seen that the
new tariff schedule which runs from 11 cents a pound for frozen eggs to 60 cents a pound for dried egg albumen, is vitally important
to the egg producers of California and the entire United States."
---"Tariff on Eggs Important," Los Angles Times, May 18, 1930 (p. D12)
"It is reported here today by Albert Zoraster, one of the leading chicken and egg authorities in the San Fernando Valley area, that a
large dried egg plant my be the next modern industry to be established in this part of the valley area, to take care of the egg surplus
each months of the year, and to stabilize the egg market when there is overproduction, and fresh egg markets are more ore less weak.
The desiccated egg is the next thing in line in the way of large production for commercial use, Zoraster said today and it will be
in keeping with a move that is being felt in various parts of the state. California's new egg law goes into effect in
November. Already a desiccating plant has been opened at Hayward, and its output passed upon as up to standards required
of foodstuffs. These plants are soon to be established in various sections where egg production is largest. San Fernando
Valley is rated as the largest center in Southern California with Fontana next. Zoraster says that for home use the fresh egg will
always be in demand for ham-and-eggs and scrambled eggs and boiled eggs and the like, but that more and more, large commercial bakers and
other food manufacturers are leaning toward the use of the desiccated egg for numerous economic reasons, and that in time
the dried egg will become as widely used as powdered milk and other dehydrated staple commodities."
---"Dried Egg Plant to Be Next Big Valley Industry," Los Angeles Times, July 13, 1931 (p. 8)
The earliest print evidence we find for professional confectioners employing dried egg albumen is from the 1920s. Please note:
our collection of texts in this area is very small. We offer our notes as benchmarks. A comprehensive study determining the
introduction and evolution of this product requires examining several texts from different countries.
"Egg albumen. This is a product of many different grades. Two ounces of good grade of egg albumen to a pint of water is equal to 1 1/2
dozen egg whites. With the poorer grades of egg albumen it will take three ounces in a pint of water to equal this same amount of
egg whites. Although it is necessary to thoroughly soak egg albumen in order to dissolve, it should never be left in water for
over 15 hours as it stagnates and ferments, and in this condition in impossible to use."
---Rigby's Reliable Candy Teacher, W.O. Rigby, 19th edition [printed in the USA]undated, 1921? (p. 17)
"Icing for Decoration.
Take the whites of two eggs or an egg white substitute and whip for about a minute in a clean kettle, then stiffen to a body
about as heavy as corn syrup by adding XXXX powdered sugar. Whip until nice and white. If too heavy to run out of decorating tube, add
a few drops of acetic acid or citric acid solution. Icing can be colored and flavored to suit. In handling a decorating tube
or bag, the results obtained depend entirely up the skill of the decorator."
---Rigby (p. 45)
"Albumen is a mixture of proteins in the white of eggs. That from hen eggs is the best quality. For commercial purposes the egg
white is evaporated at a low temperature and the dried albumen is sold as yellowish flakes or as a coarse granular powder. Before
use it requires soaking as it dissolves rather slowly in water. Great care must be exercised if any heat is applied as coagulation
commences at 140 degrees F. (60 degrees C.). For most purposes, such as for frappe to be used in nougat, marshmallow, fondant
cream or royal icing, a 10% solution is made. This has good foaming qualities and the foam remains stable when heated. It should be
noted, however, that if the frappe is heated to above 140 degrees F...before beating is complete, it will be impossible to
incorporate any more air and it is quite likely that the foam already made will collapse. Like other agglutinants referred to in
this section, the solution will deteriorate rapidly and therefore only as much as is required for one or at the most two days
should be made. During the War the supply of egg albumen was restricted, and many experiments were made to find satisfactory
substitutes. There are now several products on the market and in the use of these the manufacture's instructions should
be followed closely."
---"Confectioners' Raw Materials," Skuse's Complete Confectioner, revised and edited by W.J. Bush & Co., [W.J. Bush & Company:London]
13th edition, 1957 (p. 13-14)
Eggs benedict
When it comes to the origin of Eggs Benedict, food historians tell us there several stories and that we
will never know which one is true. All versions occur in 1890s posh New York City
restaurants (Waldorf Astoria & Delmonico's) and attribute title to wealthy related people with surname Benedict.
(1) Lemuel Benedict (hungover yet hungry) concocts this dish with the help of Waldorf-Astoria kitchen crew (2) Mrs. LeGrand Benedict (sometimes with her husband, always on a Saturday) bored with Delmonico's lunch menu, requests
something new for lunch. (3) Commodore E. C. Benedict "invents" this dish. The most cogent summary we've found so far
(so much so, we hunted down his original references & reprinted them below) was authored by Gregory Beyer and published by The New York Times, c. 2007:
---"Was he the Eggman?" Gregory Beyer, New York Times, April 8, 2007 (p. CY1)
[NOTE: 1942 New Yorker & 1978 Bon Appetit articles below.]
[1839]
"To Poach Eggs.
Place a broad stew-pan of clean water over the fire till it boils, and set it level before the fire. Break the eggs separately into a plate or saucer, to
ascertain if they are good, dropping them as you examine them into the boiling water. They must not be too much crowded, and there must be
plenty of water to cover them well. Having put them all into the pan in this manner, let them remain till the whites become set; then place the pan
again on the fire, and cook them as hard as you desire: they probably will be sufficiently hard by the time the water begins to boil. Raise them
carefully from the water with an egg-slice, trimming the edges smoothly, and lay them separately upon small buttered toasts or broiled ham,
arranging them neatly in the dish; sprinkle on a very little salt and black pepper; put on each a spoonful of melted butter, and send them up warm.
They are eaten at breakfast. When prepared for the dinner table, omit the toasts or ham; serve them in a small deep dish, sprinkle on some salt
and pepper, and pour over the same melted butter. They are sent as a side side to accompany poultry and game."
---Kentucky Housewife, Lettice Bryan, facsimile 1839 edition [Image Graphics:Paducah KY] undated recent paperback reprint (p. 227)
"Philadelphia Eggs
Split some fresh muffins in two, toast them to a fine color and lay them on a dish. Cut cooked chicken white meat the same size
as the half muffin, lay them on top, then a poached egg over, and cover with Hollandaise sauce, made as follows: Melt a quarter of a
pound of fresh butter and when quite hot add two raw egg yolks and the juice of half a lemon; whip well till it becomes creamy and
consistent, then use."
---The Cook Book by "Oscar" of the Waldorf," Oscar Tschirky [Saalfield Publishing:Chicago] 1896, 1908 (p. 588)
[NOTE: Interesting this cookbook does not offer a recipe for "Eggs Benedict" two years after the "invention" occurred. One would think
the author would be proud to share.]
"a la Benedict--Benedict
Split and toast some small muffins; put on each a nice round slice of broiled ham, and on the ham the poached egg; pour over some
hollandaise sauce."
---
Eggs and how to use them, Adolphe Meyer, 1898 (p. 43)
"Poached Eggs a la Benedict
(Adolphe Meyer)
Split and toast some muffins. Put on each a round slice of broiled ham, and on the ham poach an egg. Pour over some Hollandaise sauce.
Beat half a cup of butter to a cream, add the yolks of two to four eggs (according to the consistency desired) one at a time, beating
in each egg thoroughly before another is added. Add one-fourth a teaspoonful of salt, a dash of cayenne or paprika, and half a cup of
boiling water. Cook over hot water until thickened slightly, adding gradually the juice of half a lemon. Remove the saucepan from the
water occasionally, to avoid overheating and curdling the mixture."
---"Queries and Answers," Boston Cooking School Magazine, May 1, 1902, 6,10; Ameircan Periodicals (p. 473)
"Eggs a la Benedict
Split and toast English muffins. Saute circular pieces of cold boiled ham, place these over halves of muffins, arrange on each a dropped
egg, and pour around Hollandaise Sauce II (see p. 274), diluted with cream to make of such consistency to pour easily."
---Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, Fannie Merritt Farmer, facsimile 1906 edition [Cornell Digital Collections:Ithaca NY] 2011 (p. 97)
[NOTE: This recipe does not appear in the 1896 edition of this book.]
"'Ten ways of Serving Eggs,' Omelete plain, Spanish Omelet, Eggs a la Martin, Shirred Eggs, Mexicana Eggs, Jefferson, Eggs Benedict,
Eggs Poached, Steamed and Scrambled."
---"Cooking School," [Mrs. Sara Tyson Rorer], Dakota Huronite [SD], June 17, 1909 (p. 8)
"(2925)...Eggs a la Benedick
Cut some muffins in halves crosswise, toast them without allowing to brown, then place a round of cooked ham an eighth of an inch thick and
of the same diameter as the muffins on each half. Heat in a moderate oven and put a poached egg on each toast. Cover the whole wiht Hollandaise
sauce."
---The Epicurean, Charles Ranhofer, [Hotel Monthly Press:Evanston IL] 1920 (p. 858)
[NOTE: (1) The 1893 edition of this book does not contain this recipe. Both editions contain a recipe titled "Ham a la Benedict" which
appears to be unrelated.]
For each egg allow one slice of cooked ham and one toasted English muffin or round slice of toast. Poach eggs. Put ham on toast,
then poached egg; pour over all with well-seasoned white sauce."
---"Household Department," Boston Globe, June 2, 1920 (p. 12)
"Eggs Benedict
Buy six English muffins from the baker, split and toast a nice brown, spread with butter, cover with a thin slice of broiled ham,
place a poached egg on each half of muffin and pour over all a tomato Hollandaise sauce."
---"Chef Wyman's Suggestions for Tomorrow's Menu," Los Angeles Times, April 19, 1924 (p. A6)
"Benedict Eggs
4 slices toast
4 slices ham
4 poached eggs
4 strips broiled bacon
1 cup thin cream sauce; made as follows
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup top milk
salt and pepper
On each slice of toast place a slice of broiled ham and then a poached egg. Pour over cream sauce, and lay a strip of bacon over the
top. Garnish with paprika."
---"Muffins and Egg Benedict Ready to Start Today," Marian Manners, Los Angeles Times, November 18, 1935 (p. A7)
"Forty-eight years ago a young blade named Lemuel Benedict came into the dining room of the old Waldorf for a late breakfast. He had a hangover
(the statute of limitations permits the publication of the libel), but his brain was clicking away in high gear. He ordered some buttered toast, crisp
bacon, two poached eggs, and a hooker of hollandaise sauce, and then and there proceeded to put together the dish that has, ever since, borne
his name. Oscar of the Waldorf got wind of this unorthodox delicacy, tested it, and put it on his breakfast and luncheon menus, with certain
modifications. Oscar's version of Eggs Benedict substituted ham for bacon and a toasted English muffin for toasted bread. Be advised that this
perversion is not approved by the originator, who now lives in sedate retirement near Stamford, Connecticut, writing political articles, Republican in
tone, for the local newspaper and puttering around with amateur cookery. 'English muffins are unpalatable, no matter how they are toasted or how
they are served,' he says. To the best of our knowledge, Mr. Benedict is the sole surviving epicure of those who have given their names to great
recipes. Dame Nellie Melba is gone; so is Newburg (nobody knows much about him) and Tom Collins (nobody knows anything about him). Naturally,
this statement ignores Reuben's sandwiches, which impart but a fleeting flame. Benedict's has been a full and happy life, crowned just lately by
the election of Mrs. Luce. He was a stockbroker for thirty-eight years, selling his seat and retiring at a good time--1927. His happiest memories,
however, are gastronomical rather than financial. For example, he remembers W. K. Vanderbilt's chef, the great Joseph, who was paid fifteen
thousand a year and who claimed he put terrapin in a more cheerful frame of mind and improved their flavor by reading a newspaper to them
before dropping them in the soup. Mr. Benedict told us vivid tales of the Broadway lobster palaces, of get-togethers at Delmonico's with Diamond
Jim Brady and Lillian Russell, and of informal Sunday afternoons at his own home, with Schumann-Heink or Caruso eating his food and
spontaneously bursting into song. Mr. Benedict occasionally visits New York, but it's not the same. About the only landmark left for him is the
Racquet Club. After having achieved some really good cooking, we Americans have retrogressed to the point of eating hamburgers, drinking
between meals, and taking our mistresses and wives to dine at the same places--all, in Mr. Benedict's eyes, equal crimes."
---"Benedict," The New Yorker, December 19, 1942 (p. 14-15)
[NOTE: No recipe provided in this article.]
"The legendary Delmonico's Restuarant in New York City has been the birthplace of several tasty and now-famous dishes, among them Eggs Benedict.
According to a well-founded report, two of the regular customers were Mr. and Mrs. LeGrand Benedict. One Saturday at lunch, Mrs. Benedict complained that
there was nothing new on the menu, so the maitre d'hotel asked what she might suggest. Out of their colloquy came the now internationally famous recipe: toasted
English muffins topped with a thin slice of ham and poached eggs, with hollandaise sauce over all."
---Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins, Volume III, William and Mary Morris [Harper & Row:New York] 1964 (p. 93-94)
"Eggs Benedict is conceivably the most sophisticated dish ever created in America. Oddly enough, its origins are little-known. They certainly had been obscure
to this department until the arrival not long ago of a letter from an American residing in France. The writer, Edward
P. Montgomery, expressed the hope that once and for all a recipe for the genuine article might be offered the public. He cringes at the thought of what passes for
the dish in most American restaurants, a 'concoction of an overpoached egg on a few shreds of ham on a --ugh!--soggy tough half of an English muffin with an
utterly tasteless hollandaise...' Mr. Montgomery related that the dish was created by Commodore E.C. Benedict. It was from his kitchen that the dish gained its
fame. The commodore, a noted banker and yachtsman, died in 1920 at the age of 86. The recipe here was given to Mr. Montgomery by his mother, who in turn
had been given it by her brother, a friend of the Commodore. 'To get the hollandaise, eggs, toast and ham assembled when they are at point is,' Mr. Montgomery
says, 'a real trick.'
1 hard-cooked egg
4 slices cooked ham, cut one-quarter inch thick (enough to cut flour three-inch circles)
1/2 cup plus one tablespoon butter
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch cayenne
4 three-inch rounds of toast
4 poached eggs
parsley sprigs.
1. Separate the hard-cooked whit from the yolk. Chop the white finely and force the yolks through a sieve.
2. Cut four three-inch rounds of ham.
3. Place white and yolk and one-quarter cup finely chopped ham trimmings in a bowl and place over hot water to warm.
4. Melt one tablespoon butter in a skillet and warm ham rounds over gentle heat.
5. Heat the remaining one-half cut butter to bubbling. Place egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and cayenne in an electric blender. Turn motor to low. Add butter slowly while blending. Blend 15 seconds until smooth.
6. Stir the hot, hard-cooked egg and ham mixture into the sauce.
7. Place two rounds of toast on each of two plates. Top each toast round with a round of ham and then a poached egg. Spoon sauce over. garnish with a few slivers of ham and parsley sprigs. Yield: Two servings."
---"An American Classic: Eggs Benedict," Craig Claiborne, New York Times, September 24, 1967 (
p. 290)
---Letters to the Editor, New York Times, November 26, 1967 (p. SM 40)
---Perfect Eggs Benedict," Doris Tobias Bon Appetit, March 1978 (p. 53-54, 98)
[NOTE: This article offers recipe and several variations; none of them purported as "the original."]
"Eggs Benedict
Hollandaise sauce (see below)
2 English muffins
Butter
4 slices of baked ham, cut in rounds to fit over English muffin halves
1 quart water
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
Prepare Hollandaise sauce (see below). Keep warm over hot water. Split and lgihtly toast English muffins, spread lightly with butter.
1/4 cup fine white wine vinegar
1/2 pound butter
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons water
Salt
White pepper
Place vinegar in the top half of a double boiler directly over very low heat until reduced to about 1/2 teaspoon. Remove saucepan from heat
until reduced to about 1/2 teaspoon. Remove saucepan from heat and set aside until vinegar is quite cool. Place butter in top half of a second
double boiler and place over hot, not boiling water. Whe melted, gently pour it into a measuring cup, discarding the milky
sediment in the bottom of the pan. Beat the egg yolks and water in the double boiler with the vinegar. Place over barely simmering
water and beat with a wire whisk until very light and frothy."
---The Waldorf-Astoria Cookbook, Ted James and Rosalind Cole [Bramhall House::New York] 1981 (p. 217)
Floating Islands
Food historians generally agree Floating Island desserts originated in 18th century France. They do not credit a specific chef for the invention. Chef-linguists
confirm the relationship between French Snow Eggs (Oeufs a la neige) and Floating Island (Ile Flottante). In both cases, the critical
ingredient is whisked egg whites, also known as meringue. Escoffier [1903] helps us understand the difference by including both recipes in his Guide Culinaire.
"Floating island (in French ile flottante) is a cold dessert consisting of a round flat baked meringue 'island' floating on a sea of custard...It is very close in
conception to, and sometimes confused with, the French dish oeufs a la neige, 'snow eggs', in which the beaten egg whites are formed into small individual masses,
not one large one, poached rather than baked, and then placed on a top of a light egg custard."
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:
Oxford] 2002 (p. 127)
We are naturally drawn to recipes with interesting names. Hangtown Fry is one of them. The legend(s) are fun. The evolution of the dish is common sense.
"In early 1849 a French miner claimed two Mexicans robbed him of his gold, and others accused the same men of being horse thieves. A mob hung the accused from an oak tree in the center of the
settlement, which then acquired the name Hangtown. Community leaders soon renamed the town Placerville but the colorful name stuck. In 1850 the El Dorado Hotel and Saloon opened on that same
square, next to the infamous oak tree. The hotel restaurant gained fame for its excellent food...Legends ay one day some happy miner at the El Dorado demanded the most expensive dish possible. The cook satisfied him with
a scramble of eggs ad oysters."
---San Francisco: A Food Biography, Erica J. Peters [Rowman & Littlefield:Lanham MD] 2013(p. 183-184)
[NOTE: Ms. Peters traces the earliest recipe for Hangtown Fry to Victor Hirtzer, 1919.]
[1857]
Related foods: Western (aka Denver) sandwiches & Scrambled eggs & oysters.
"Oyster Omelet.--Having strained the liquor from twenty-five oysters of the largest size, mince them small; omitting the hard part or gristle. If you cannot get
large oysters, yoou should have forty or fifty small ones. Break into a shall pan six, seven, or eight eggs, according to the quantity of minced oysters. Omit half the whites, and
(having beaten the ggs till very light, thick, and smoothh,) mix the oysters gradually into them, adding a little cayenne pepper, and some powdered nutmeg. Put three ounces or
more of the best fresh butter into a small frying-pan, if you have no pan especially for omelets. Place it over a clear fire, and when the butter, (which should be previously
cut up,) has come to a boil, put in the omelet-mixture; stir it till it begin to set; and fry it light brown, lifting the edge several times by slipping a knife under it,
and taking care not to cook it too much or it will shrivel and become tough. When done, clap a large hot plate or dish on the top of the omelet, and turn it quickly and
carefully out of the pan. Serve it up immediately. It is a fine breakfast dish. This quantity will make one large or two small omelets..."
---Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book, Eliza Leslie [T.B. Peterson:Philadelpha] 1857 (p. 118-119)
"Oyster Omelet
Drain twelve oysters and remove the hard part. Beat four eggs without separating until the white and yolks are thoroughly mixed, add four tablespoons of warm water. See that your
omelet pan is in good order and perfectly smooth, put into it a piece of butter the size of a walnut and another piece the same size into the eggs. As soon as butter is
melted and the pan is yot, add the oysters to the eggs, turn the whole into the hot pan, shake over a good fire until the eggs are set in the bottom, then lift the side of the
omelet allowing the soft part of the egg to run underneath, shake again, dust the omelet with salt and pepper fold it over, and turn it out on a heated dish. Serve at
once."
---"Housekeeping Inquiries, Mrs. S.T. Rorer editor, Table Talk, August 1890 (p. 300)
"Scrambled Eggs aux Huitres --with Oysters.
The bearded oysters are cooked with a little of their own gravy; when cooked, cream sauce is added in proportion and dished up in the centre of the eggs. Or, the soft part of
the oysters are cut into squares and cooked, the liquid strained and the oysters mixed with thee eggs."
---Eggs, and How To Use Them, Adolphe Meyer [Adolphe Meyer:New YOrk] 1898 (p. 67)
Hangtown fry. Mix plain scrambled eggs with one dozen small fried California oysters."
---Hotel St. Francis Cook Book, Victor Hirtzler [Hotel Monthly Press:Chicago] 1919 (p. 6)
The Hangtown Frys' as equally popular with the gold miners, the principal ingredient being oysters."
---Oakland Tribune [CA], April 30, 1922 (p. 10A)
"Hangtown Fry" sold for 75 cents at the Mandarin restaurant, San Francisco.
"Hangtown Fry., M.W., Hollywood Cal.
Drain the liquor from one cupful of Califonia oysters, dry them in flour, and cook a light brown in hot butter on both sides Beat six eggs with three tablespoons of milk and
seasoning of salt and pepper. Melt two tablespoonfuls of butter in a saute pan; add the eggs and stir over the fire until a soft scramble. Add the cooked California oysters, mix and serve on
squares of toast."
---"Practical Recipes," Los Angeles Times, May 22, 1928 (p. A8)
"Hangtown Fry
Drai and pat dry one cup of oysters season with salt and pepper, roll in flour and cook a delicate brown in hot butter. Have ready four to six eggs beaten with three
tablespoons of butter in a saute pan add the eggs and stir until a soft scramble add the cooked oysters blend the two and serve. In other words, a 'Hangtown Fry'
really is scrambled eggs and oysters."
---"Requested Recipes," Los Angeles Times, December 4, 1935 (p. A7)
"The story of gold mining in the Placerville district is told in a book to be off the press shortly, 'Pay Dirt,' by Glenn Chesney Quiett. This volume, which is to be published by
D. Appleton-Century Company, gives a panoramic picture of all the gold rushes that have taken place in the United States and Canada. Beginning with the current revival of gold
mining and the panning and sluicing of gravel in gold-bearing streams which has recently attracted so many amateurs, the book takes up the whole romantic story of the search for
gold in America. Although it is an historically accurate record of American gold mining, the book is written in narrative stype. Mr. Quiett tells how Placrville, as Hangtown, gave
its name to that still popular dish, 'Hangtown Fry."
---"New Book To Tell of '49 Gold Camps," Mountain Democrat [Placerville CA] October 29, 1936 (p. 2)
"Hangtown Fry
1 pint small oysters
6 eggs
Butter
Cream
Drain oysters well and slowly simmer in butter until edges begin to curl. Break eggs in bowl and stir in some cream; pour over oysters and scramble everything lightly
together, just as in making scrambled egggs. California uses Olymipa oysters, for which the State of Washington is famous, and these are no bitter than your thumbnail--
100 of them wouldn't make a dozen ordinary oysters along the Atlantic. This dish was popularized in Hangtown, a mining camp, where in boom days eggs were almost
worth their weight in gold dust."
---America Cooks: Favorite Recipes from 48 States, The Browns, Cora, Rose ad Bob [Garden City Books:GardenCity NY] 1949 (p. 46)
"Hangtown Fry.
This most famous of our own oyster dishes, dates back to the days of the Argoauts. That we know, but we don't know just exactly how it got its nae--it's too good a one not to be started many
yarns a-spinning. A sure guess is that it had something to do wit the town of that name (Hangtown was renamed Placerville to appease some of its more fastidious
citizens). One story is that a man about to be hanged asked that his last meal be 'fried oyster with scrambled eggs on top and bacon on the side.' A story that seems more
likely that the dish was named after Nick 'Hangtown,' whose name was acquired when he cooked for Mr. Studebaker, the wheelbarrow king, in Hangtown. (Mr. Studebaker was quite
busy laying the foundation of his family's fortune.) Later Nick went to Collins & Wheeland in San Francisco where he became the cook, and introduced his famous oyster dish.
The shucked oysters are dried dusted with flour, dipped in beaten egg which has beem seasoned with salt and pepper then rolled in cracker crumbs and browned on both
sides in butter, not more than a minute on each side. Beaten seasoned eggs are poured over the oysters and allowed to set, then turned, oysters ad all, and browned on the other
side. (About 4 medium oysters and 2 eggs to each serving.) This is served with bacon, and often fried onions and/or fried green peppers are an extra embellishment. An even simpler way to make
this famous dish is to mix scrambled eggs with fried oysters and serve!
4 medium oysters
Flour
Beaten egg
Salt and pepper
Cracker Crumbs
Butter
---West Coast Cook Book, Helen Evans Brown, facsimile 1952 reprint [Cookbook Collectors Library] undated (p. 144-145)
"The legend of the origin of Hangtown
Fry, a combination of oysters and eggs, may or many not be true, but it is an interesting shred of Caliornia Gold Rush history. A man condemed to the gallows in Hangtown, now less picturesquely nnamed Placerville, was
asked what he wished for his last meal. He promptly answered eggs and oysters, perhaps with a description of how they were to be prepared. Historians suspect the victim's
request was aimed as much at saving his neck as at gastronomic delight. Getting fresh eggs and oysters could delay the hanging some days, maybe long enough for Gold Rush Law to
temper the sentence."
"Hangtown Fry.
1/2 pt small oysters
6 eggs
2 tbls. water
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Fine cracker crumbs or bread crumbs.
2 tbsp. butter or margarine
Drain oysters on paper towels. Stir eggs with water, salt and pepper just to mix. Dip oysters in eggs, then in cracker crumbs. Melt butter in a hot skillet. Add oysters and
cook about 1 min. on each side. Pour in eggs and cook over low heat, lifting cooked portions of eggs to let uncooked egg run underneath. When firm on the bottom, turn and brown
lightly on the other side. Serve with crisp bacon. Fried green pepper or tomato often is served with Hangtown Fry. Makes 4 servings."
---"Hangtown Fry Drawn into Legend," Los Angeles Times, June 11, 1964 (p. D12)
Our survey of historic dictionaries, word history sources, cook books, culinary encyclopedias and newspapers confirms the general launch date of the term shirred
eggs but not the origin of the term. In sum:
"3. Cookery. (See quot. 1892.)
1883 G. A. Sala America Revisited I. xxii. 302 That woman's shirred eggs and sugar-cured ham should immortalise her, the sleeping-car Cap'n gravely
remarked.
1892 T. F. Garrett & W. A. Rawson Encycl. Pract. Cookery I. 566/2 Shirred Eggs.Butter the inside of a deep plate, break into it as many Eggs as will cover the
bottom, shake a little pepper and salt over them, place bits of butter all over, put them into a moderately hot oven."
The verb "shirring" also appears about this time:
"2. Cookery. To poach (eggs) in cream instead of water (Cent. Dict. 1891)."
---Diner's Dictionary, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2012, 2nd edition (accessed online, no page reference provided)
"3. Shirred eggs, eggs poached or baked in cream, crumbs etc. 1883 Sala, George A.H. America Revisited I. 302 [London] That woman's shirred eggs and sugared ham should immortalize her."...
Also shirrer, a receptacle in which eggs are shirred. 1902 F.M. Farmer Boston Cook Book 97 The shirrers should be placed on a tin plate, that they may be easily removed from the oven."
(p. 1522)
[1869]
"Eggs on the Dish.
---The Royal Cookery Book, Jules Gouffe, translated by Alphonse Gouffe [Sampson Low, Son and Marston:London] 1869 (p. 177)
"Shirred eggs.--Butter a neat baking dish, and break six eggs into it; place in a hot oven and when the eggs are well set, season with salt, pepper and a little butter, and
serve immediately. It is better to have the smallest size of baking dishes, and placing two eggs in each, serve them individually. The eggs should be quite soft in the
centre when taken from the oven and stirred together before eating."
---"Farm and House, Recipes," Standard [Albert Lea MN], October 23, 1879 (p. 2)
"Eggs sur le Plat
---Mrs. Rorer's Philadelphia Cook Book, Mrs. S[arah] T[yson] Rorer [Arnold and Company:Philadelphia] 1886 (p. 257)
"Shirred Eggs (Oeufs sur le Plat)--Eggs au Miroir
Many persons have asked the writer what the difference is between shirred eggs and eggs au miroir. Accordig to the modern school of thought, the difference is as follows:
Shirred eggs ae cooked in a small china dish, especially made for the purpose, and are served therein; while eggs au miroir are also cooked in the same kind of dish, but when done they
are cut with a round paste cutter, and served either on toast, rusts, or the garnishing directly. These are the teachings of the over-refined modern school. In the
good old days no difference was made between a shirred egg and an egg au miroir. In cooking shirred eggs, butter the dish lightly, break into it either three or four
eggs, pour hot melted butter over the yolks, and cook in a slow oven for a few minutes, until the yolks look as though they are covered with a veil. The seasoning of eggs, if
no sauce accompanies them, should be left to the eater, as salt and pepper destroy the beauty of a well cooked egg."
---Eggs, And How to Use Them, Adolphe Meyer [Adolphe Meyer:New York] 1898 (p. 73)
[NOTES: (1) 38 recipes for Shirred Eggs appear in this book. (2) 90 recipes for Shirred eggs are offered in 1917 edition. Will scan/send upon request.]
"...the greatest innovation [of Elizabethan-era cooking] was the discovery of eggs as a raising agent in cookery. Whites
of eggs produced the Elizabethan 'dishful of snow', a spectacular centrepiece for the banquet course following a festal
meal. They were beaten with thick cream, rosewater and sugar until the froth rose, and the latter was gathered in a
colander, and then built up over an apple and 'a thick bush of rosemary' on a platter. In some versions the snow was
gilded as a final touch. The beating of egg whites was not altogether easy before the fork came into common use in the
late seventeenth century...A 1655 recipe for 'cream with snow' suggested a cleft stick, or 'a bunch of reeds tied
together, and roll between your hands standing upright in your cream'. For the dishful of snow was still being made under
the name of 'cream with snow' (it had lost the rosemary and the gilt), and as 'snow cream' or 'blanched cream' it
continued into the eighteenth century. A variant form with the addition of apple pulp came to be known as 'apple snow'.
The same recipe was made up with other fruits in season. Syllabubs were also produced on occasion from cream reinforced by
white of egg to enhance their light, frothy texture."
---Food and Drink in Britain From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson [Academy Chicago:Chicago IL] 1991 (p. 147)
[16th century England]
About Creme Anglaise.
"To make Snowe.
Tak a quart of thick creame, and five or six whites of Egs, a sawcerfull of sugar, and a sawcerfull of Rosewater, beate all together, and ever as it riseth take it out
with a spooone; then take a loaf of bread, cut away the crust, and set it upright in platter. Then set a faire great Rosemarie brush in the middle of your bread: then
lay your snow with a spoon upon your Rosemary, & upon your bread, & gilt it."
6 egg whites
1/2 pint heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon rosewater
1 10 X 14-inch gingergbread
1 branch of mint or rosemary
Whip the egg whites until stigf. Slowly add the cream and continue whipping. Whip in the sugar and rosewater until the mixture is light and fluffy (about 5 minutes).
Place the gingerbread on a serving platter and stick the herb branch in the center. With a spatula, spread the snow evenly over the gingerbread and dot the branch.
Sprinkle dill or mint leaves around the base to resemble grass. Serves 6-8."
---Sallets Humbles & Shrewsbery Cakes: A Collection of Elizabethan Recipes Adapted for the Modern Kitchen, Ruth Anne Beebe [David R. Godine:Boston] 1976 (p. 71)
"Snow eggs.
Boile some milk with a little flower water well allyed, then put it in more than half of one dosen of whites of eggs, and stir well all together, and sugar it. When
you are ready to serve, set them on the fire again and glase them, that is, take the rest of your whites of eggs, beat them with a feather, and mix all well together;
or else fry well the rest of your whites, and powre them over your other eggs. Pass over it lightly an oven lid, or the fire-shovell red hot, and serve them sured
with sweet waters. You may instead of whites, put in it the yolks of your eggs proportionable, and the whites fried upon. The cream after the Mazarine way is
make in the same manner, except you must put no whites of eggs on it."
---The French Cook, Francois Pierre, La Varenne, translated into English in 1653 by I.D.G., with an introdution by Philip and Mary Hyman [Southover Press:East Sussex] 2001 (p. 98-99)
"To make Snow Cream. Take a quart of cream, six whites of eggs, a quartern of rose-water, a quarter of a pound of double refined sugar, beat them
together in a deep bason or a boul dish, then have a fine silverdish with a penny manchet, the bottom and upper crust being take away, & made the bottom and
upper crust being taken away, & made fast with paste to the bottom of the dish, and a streight sprig of rosemary set in the middle of it; then beat the cream and
eggs together, and as it froatheth take it off with a spoon and lay it on the bread and rosemary till you have fill'd the dish. You may beat amongst it some musk
and ambergriese dissolv'd, and gild it if you please."
---The Accomplisht Cook, Robert May, facsimilie 1685 edition [Prospect Books:Devon] 2000 (p. 279)
"The Floating Island, a pretty Dish for the Middle of a Table at a second Course, or for supper. Take a Soop Dish according to the Size and Quantity you
would make; but a pretty deep Glass Dish is best, and set it on a China Dish, first take a Quart of the thickest Cream you can get, make it pretty sweet with fine
Sugar, pour in a Gill of Sack, grate the yellow Rind of Lemon in, and mill the Cream till it is all of a thick Froth, then as carefully as you can, pour the thin from the
Froth into a Dish; take a French Role, or as many as you want, cut it as thin as you can, lay a Layer of that as light as possible on the Cream, then a Layer of
Currant-jelly, then a very thin Layer of Role, and then Hartshorn-jelly, then French Role, and over that whip your Froth which you saved off the Cream very
well milled up, and lay at Top as high as you can heap it; and as for the Rim of the Dish set it round with Fruit or Sweetmeats according to your Fancy, this looks
very pretty in the middle of a Table with Candles round it, and you may make it of as many different Colours as you fancy, and according to what Jellies and
Giams, or Sweet-meats you have; or at the Bottom of your Dish you may put the thickest Cream you can get; but that is as you fancy."
---The Art of Cookery Made Plain & Easy, Hannah Glasse, facsimile 1747 edition [Prospect Books:Devon] (p. 147)
"To make a Floating Island
Grate the yellow rind of a large lemon into a quart of cream, put in a large glass of Madeira wine. Make it prettsweet with loaf sugar, mill it with a chocolate mill to a
strong froth, take it off as it rises and lay it upon a sieve to drain all night. Then take a deep glass dish and lay in your froth with a Naples biscuit in the middle of it.
Then beat the white of an egg to a strong froth and roll a sprig of myrtle in it to imitate snow, stick it in the Naples biscuit. Then lay all over your froth currant jelly
cut in very thin slices, pour over it very fine strong calve's foot jelly. When it grows thick lay it all over till it looks like a glass and ytour dish is full to the brim, let it
stand till it is quite cold and stiff. Then lay on rock candid sweetmeats upon the top of your jelly, and sheep and swans to pick at the myrtle. Stick green prigs in two
or three places upon the top of your jelly amongst your shapes. It looks very pretty in the middle of a table for supper. You must not put the shapes on the jelly
till you are going to send it to the table."
Omelettes
What is an omelette?
According Alan Davidson's Oxford Companion to Food [Oxford University Press:Oxford]
1999
(p. 550, 553), the word omelette" is of French origin and came into use during the mid-16th
century. Somewhat similar egg dishes were known to and ancient medieval cooks. Mr. Davidson
traces the origins of the omelette to ancient Persia. We know the Ancient Romans often combined
eggs and dairy products into patinae, custards and a variety of other sweet and savory dishes. C.
Anne Wilson comments: "The precursor to the omlette in Britain was known as a herbolace and
in the late fourteenth century was a mixture of eggs and shredded herbs, baked in a buttered dish.
A contemporary French recipe under the same name is much more detailed, and gives instructions
for heating oil, butter or fat thoroughly in a frying pan before pouring in eight well-beaten eggs
(of medieval size) mixed with brayed herbs and ginger. The French version was finished off with
grated cheese on top, and appears to have been quite close to the modern concept of an
omelette."
---Food and Drink in Britain From the Stone Age to the 19th Century
[Academy Chicago Press:Chicago] 1991 ( p. 142).
"The notion of cooking beaten eggs in butter in a pan is an ancient one...but omelette does not enter the English language until the early seventeenth century. It is first
described by Randle Cotgrave in his Dictionary of the French and English Tongues (1611): Haumelette, an Omelet, or Pancake of egges.' Omelettes had then been made
in France for two or three hundred years, and it is from French that we get their name. It has a complex history: it probably started out as lamella, a diminutive of lamina
'thin plate'; this was borrowed into French, but by a misanalysis of la lemele...it became alemelle or alumelle. It seems this must at some point have had the common
suffix -ette substituted for -elle, and the resulting alemette then had its first two consonants transposed...to give amelette. The word has had a variety of spellings in
English, including amulet in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and emlett in the seventeenth century, and there iss till some variation: omelette is now the
generally preferred form in British English, but the Oxford English Dictionary gave omelet precedence in 1902, and this is still the main American spelling."
---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 232)
"Forms:16 ormlet, 16-17 omlet, 16- omelet, 17 omalade, 17-18 omlette, 18 omellette (irreg.), 18- omelette. . 16 ammulet, 16 emlett, 16-17 amelet, 16-17 amulet, 17 amlet. [< Middle French, French omelette (1561; also as aumelette (1611 in Cotgrave)), alteration (see note) of Middle French, French amelette (1480; now regional), app. a variant (with metathesis) of an unattested Middle French form *alemette (cf. alumette (c1400), alumecte (first half of the 15th cent.)), itself in turn a variant (with suffix substitution) of alemelle, alumelle thin plate, blade of a sword or knife (second half of the 12th cent. in Old French as alemele, alumele; late 14th cent. as alumelle in sense sweet fritter, perh. omelette), ult. a variant (with metanalysis of the definite article) of lemelle blade (second half of the 12th cent. in Old French as lemele; French lamelle (early 15th cent. in Middle French)) < classical Latin lamella (see LAMELLA n.).
The change in the initial vowel from a to o prob. occurred in southern French under the influence of forms of ufmollette (1576), French ufmelete (1607), ufmeslete (1615).] "
---Larousse Gastronomique, Completely revised and updated edition [Clarkson
Potter:New York] 2001 (p. 808)
---The History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat [Barnes & Noble:New York] 1992
(p. 359)
[Ancient Rome]
[302] Omelette Souflee (Ova Sphongia Ex Lacte)
Four eggs in half a pint of milk and an ounce of oil well beaten, to make a fluffy mixture; in a pan put a little oil, and carefully add the
egg preparation, wtihout letting it boil, however. [Place it in the oven to let it rise] and when one side is done turn it out into a service
platter [fold it] pour over honey, sprinkle with pepper and serve."
---Apicius: Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome, edited and translatedy by Joseph Dommers Vehling [Dover Publications:
Mineola NY] 1977 (p. 174)
"7. An Herb Omelette
The French name for this omelette, arboilaste, is merely a combination of the words 'herb' and 'aloumaste.' This latter part of the name, which
ends up as the modern 'omelette' (with the l and m exchanged), derived from the word lamina or lamella, meaning a thin plate; the word is decriptive,
evoking the appearance of a think plate-like omelette. Though the Menagier lists many ingredients for this dish, it is really just a simple herb and cheese
omelette. Some of the herbs specified by the old recipe are no longer in common usage. Because of their bitterness and strength, the
Menagier warns the cook to use very little amounts of dittany (a plant in the mint family) and of rue (so strong and bitter,
the author says, that it may even be omitted). Smallage (wild celery), tansy, mint and sage are also to be included only in small amongt. The
salad greens--chard, spinach, clary (a variety of sage) and violet leaves--the author directs to be used in about equal
portions...Typical of the practical concerns of the Menagier is his advise that the cheese be sprinkled on top of the egg/herb
mixture after it has been poured into the pan, in order to avoid having the cheeese stick to the bottom of the pan."
---Early French Cookery: Sources, History, Original Recipes and Modern Adaptations, D. Eleanor Scully & Terence Scully
[University of Michigan Press:Ann Arbor MI] 1995 (p. 245)
[NOTES: Copy of the original recipe (printed in old French) and modernized recipe for today's kitchen are included in this book.]
"10. Omelet of cream
Break some eggs, take out half the whites, season them salt and cream, and beat all well together. Warm some butter, a little more than
ordinary, and when it is enough, serve it in square or triangle, or as it is, and sugar it well if you will."
---The French Cook, Francois Pierrer, La Varenne, Englished by I.D.G. 1653, introduced by Philip and Mary Hyman
[Southover Press:East Sussex] 2001 (p. 166)
[NOTE: Additional omelet recipes in this book are farced, lover of roebuck, beatilles, gammon & parsley.]
"To make omlets divers ways. The first way. Break six, eight, or ten eggs more of less, beat them
together in a dish, and put salt to them; then put some butter a melting in a frying pan, fry it more
or less, according to your discretion, only on one side of bottom. You may sometimes make it
green with juyce of spinage and sorrel beat with the eggs, or serve it with green sauce, a little
vinegar and sugar boil'd together, and served up on a dish with the Omlet."
"The sixth way. Beat the eggs, and put to them a little cream, a little grated bread, a little
preserved lemon-peel minced or grated very small..."
---The Accomplisht Cook, Robert May, London, Prospect Books, 2000, (p. 430-1)
"To make an Omelette. Put a quarter of a pound of butter into a frying pan. Break six eggs and
beat them a little, strain them through a hair sieve. Put them in when your butter is hot and strew
in a little shred parsley and boiled ham scraped fine with nutmeg, pepper and salt..."
--- The Experienced English Housekeeper, Elizabeth Raffald , London, Southover Press,
1997, (p. 148)
L'Omlette du Cure
---Physiologie du Gout, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin [Paris]
"A Common Omlet. Six eggs are sufficient for an omlet of moderate size. Let them be very fresh;
break them singly and carefully...when they are sufficiently whisked pour them through a sieve,
and resume the beating until they are very light. Add to them from half to a whole teaspoonful of
salt, and a seasoning of pepper..."
--- Modern Cookery for Private Families, Eliza Acton, London, Southover Press 2002 (p.
321)
"Omlete, Plain. The following recipe is by the often-quoted M. Soyer: "break four eggs into a
basin, add half a tea-spoonful of salt, and a quarter of a tea-spoonful of pepper, and beat them
well up with a fork...Two table-spoonfuls of milk...may be added."
--- Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery, [Cassell, Petter & Galpin:London] (p. 466)
"Omelet. Beat the yolks of two eggs till light-colored and thick; add two tablespoonfuls of milk, one
saltspoonful of salt, and one fourth of a saltspoonful of pepper."
--- Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Mrs. D. A. Lincoln, Boston (p. 200)
"Omelet, with fine-herbs. Break six eggs in a basin, to these add half a gill of cream, a small pat of
butter broken in small pieces, a spoonful of chopped parsley, some pepper and salt..."
--- Francatelli's Modern Cook, Charles Elme Francatelli, London (p. 395)
"Plain omelets. Beat six eggs well in a basin and season with pepper and salt and a little water.
Melt a large piece of butter in a frying pan, pour the beaten eggs in and stand it at the side but not
on the fire, turning it often. When the edges are done gather them together and roll over and over,
and serve them very hot."
---"Parsley omelet. Break two eggs in a basin, put one tablespoonful of milk with them and beat
up, mixing thoroughly but not making too light; add a little salt and a tablespoonful of
finely-chopped parsley while beating..."
--- The Cook Book by "Oscar" of the Waldforf, Oscar Tschirky, New York (p. 585)
"Omelettes. The theory of the preparation of an omelette is both simple and at the same time very
complicated for the simple reason that people's tastes for this type of dish are very different--one
likes his omelette very well cooked, another likes it to be just done, and there are others who only
like their omelette when it is extremely soft and underdone. The important thing is to know and
understand the preference of the guest...In a few words, what is an omelette? It is really a special
type of scrambled egg enclosed in a coating or envelope of coagulated egg and nothing else. The
following recipes are for an omelette of 3 eggs each, of which the seasoning comprises a small
pinch of fine salt and a touch of pepper, and which requires 15g (1/2 oz) of butter for its
preparation."
--- The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, A. Escoffier, English translation by
H. L.Cracknell & R. J. Kaufmann [John Wiley & Sons:New York] 1997 (p. 174)
"Omlete with fine herbs. Mix equal parts of chopped parsley, chervil, and chives with the
beaten eggs, season well with salt and white pepper, and make the omelet in the usual manner."
---The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book, Victor Hirtzler, San Francisco (p. 102)
"The variety of omelets is infinite, considering that every kind of different ingredient can be added. These ingredients, previously
cooked, are either pug directly into the beaten eggs, which makes a simple omelet, or, added to the omelet before
folding it over in the pan. This is called 'filling' the omelete. You could, for a filled omelet, reserve a tablespoon of its
filling, and add it, as a kind of decoration, on top of the omelet before serving. Ork arrange it in a pyramid in the middle of the folded
omelet, or place it in small pocket made into the middle of the omelete....Plain Omelet (Omelet au Naturel) This
consists of eggs seasoned only with salt and pepper, and,if possible, with a little cream added. So: 6 eggs, 2 tablespoons of cream, and
50 grams (1 3/4 ounces, 3 1/2 tablespoons) of butter total. Proceed as directed to make the omelete."
---La Bonne Cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange, translated and with an introduction by Paul Aratow [Ten Speed Press:Berkeley CA]
2005 (p. 154-155)
[NOTES: (1) The author devotes several pages describing the equipment,ingredients and procedure for accomplishing omeletes. (2) In addition to
the Plain Omelete, 18 additional recipes are offered, including potato, cheese, bacon, mushroom, ham, tuna, tomato and chicken liver.
(3) FT Library owns a copy of the original French edition. Happy to scan/share pages
upon request.]
"Omelette. Ordinary omelettes are made of three or four eggs as it is better to make them medium
sized rather than too big to insure their being well cooked. For 3 eggs, use 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1
tablespoon butter. Mix the eggs lightly with a fork and add the salt. Do not beat the eggs stiffly
thinking to make the omelette lighter. On the contrary, the omelette will become heavier and more
watery."
---Cooking a la Ritz, Louis Diat [J.B. Lippincott:New York] (p. 289)
"Fresh herb omelet. 3 eggs, 1 tablespoon cold water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon butter, 2
teaspoons chopped chives, 1 teaspoon chopped parsley, 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon, 1
fresh parsley sprig."
--- The New York Times Menu Cook Book, Craig Claiborne [Harper & Row:New York] (p.
324)
"Omelette gratinee aux champignons...beat the eggs, a big pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper in
the mixing bowl with a fork until the yolks and whites are blended-20 to 30 seconds."
[NOTE: this recipe does call for cream sauce, but it is meant for the cheese & mushroom filling,
not mixed directly in the eggs.]
--- The French Chef Cookbook, Julia Child [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] (p. 105)
Eggs-in-a-basket
Creative combinations of cooked eggs served in the middle of cut-out buttered toast are endless. "Eggs-in-a-basket" recipes are relatively
modern addition. It's also a shining example of one dish with many names: eggs in boxes, one-eyed jacks, ox eyes, Adam &
Eve on a Raft.
Close examination of ingredients & method uncovers similary culinary threads.
NOTE: "Eggs in Nests" recipes are not the same recipe. The "nests" are generally composed of meringued egg-whites, not toast.
[1901]
"Eggs in Boxes.
Cut slices of bread 1 1/2 inches thick; trim them off neatly and scoop out the centre to make a box. Dip them in beaten egg and fry tehm in hot
fat until a light brown. Drain on brown paper. Into each of these boxes drop an egg, dust lightly with salt and cook them in the oven
for 2 or 3 minutes.
---365 Breakfast Dishes, selected from Mrs. Lincoln, Mrs. Lemke, Table Talk, Boston Cooking School Magazine and Others,
[George W. Jacobs & Co.:Philadelphia PA] 1901 (p. 17)
"To Make Ox Eyes
Cut rounds of bread, toast them to a pale brown, dip in hot milk, butter generously and place on a buttered baking tin.
Separate the yolks and whites of as many eggs as there are rounds of toast. Add a pinch of salt to the whites, whip to a
dry froth, and pile high on each toast round. Make a depression in the center, drop in a yolk, sprinkle with salt,
pepper, and a table sauce, top with a 'pea' of butter, and place in brisk oven to cook. Remove to small plates and
garnish with parsley."
---"Practical Housekeeper's Own Page," Chicago Daily Tribune, June 21, 1908 (p. C3)
Pickled eggs
The art of pickling, as a preservation techique, is thousands of years old.
Recipes evolved according to place and taste. While eggs have been preserved for future use using various
pickling-type methods, the earlist print reference we're finding for "picked eggs" in
English/USA cookbooks is from the early 19th century.
---Pickled, Potted, and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the World, Sue
Shephard [Simon & Schuster:New York] 2000 (p. 96)
[1839]
"Pickled eggs.
Boil them till they are hard; throw them into cold water immediately while hot, which will make the shells
slip off smoothly without breaking the eggs. Boil some red beets till very soft; peel and mash them fine,
and put enough of the juice into some plain cold vinegar to color it fine pink; add a very little salt, pepper,
nutmeg and cloves; put the eggs into a jar, and transfuse the vinegar, &c. over them. They make a
delightful garnish to remain whole, for poultry, game and fish, and still more beautiful when cut in ringlets."
---The Kentucky Housewife, Lettice Bryan [Shepard & Stearns:Cincinnati] 1839, reprinted by Image
Graphics, Paducah KY( p. 187)
Pigeon eggs
Pigeons have been consumed by humans from prehistoric times forward. By association,
pigeon eggs have also been used as food. Recipes vary according to culture and cuisine. Chinese cuisine in some regions
feature pigeon eggs. Below please find selected modernized recipes for American kitchens.
---Game Cooking: A Collection of Recipes with a Dictionary of Rare Game, Theodora Fitzgibbon [Andre Deutsch:London]
1963 (p. 117)
"Braised Pigeon Eggs
Hung Shao Ko Tan
4 pigeon eggs
1 bamboo shoot, sliced
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup flour
1 cup oil
SAUCE
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon sherry
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Boil the eggs for 5 minutes, remove from the pan and run them under cold water. When cold, shell them. Boil the bamboo shoot and
mushrooms in water for 5 minutes; remove and set aside. Soak cooked eggs in the sauce mixture for a few minutes and then roll in the
flour. Heat a pan with the oil and when it is very hot fry the eggs until they are brown, then remove and drain. Pour away the oil
except for 3 tablesopoons of it and reheat the pan. Add bamboo shoots, mushrooms and sauce mixture and heat. Add the eggs and simmer for
10 seconds. Serve very hot in a shallow dish."
Hsi Hung Shih Ko Tan
4 pigeon eggs
1/4 cup tomato juice
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup sherry
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1/2 cup toasted bread crumbs
1/2 cup crumbled corn flakes
---The Art of Chinese Cooking, Mimie Ouei [Random House:New York] 1960 (p. 161-162)
8 pigeon eggs
2 mushrooms, sliced
1 cup oil
1 bamboo shoot, sliced
1/2 cup flour
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon sherry
1 teaspoon cornflour
Boil the eggs for 5 minutes and remove the shells. The boil the bamboo shoot and mushrooms for 5 minutes. Soak the cooked eggs in
the uncooked sauce mixture for a few minutes then remove and roll in the flour. Heat in a frying pan and add half the oil.
When hot fry the eggs until they are brown, then remove and drain. Reheat the pan and add 3 tablespoons of oil. Put in the
bamboo shoots, mushrooms and the sauce mixture. Lastly add the eggs and simmer for ten seconds. Serve hot.
4 mushrooms
1 bamboo shoot
1/4 chicken stock
1/4 lb chard, celery or cabbage
1/2 teaspoon sugar
saltspoon salt
10 pigeon eggs
1/4 cup cubed ham
1 teaspoon cornflour
1 teaspoon soy sauce
4 tablespoons oil
The mushrooms can be either fresh or dried. If dried soak for 30 minutes. Slice the mushrooms and the bamboo shoot and cut the chard
or cabbage coarsely. Heat a frying pan, add 2 tablesopoons of oil and when hot saute the chard for 5 minutes. Then add the
sugar and salt and cook for another 30 seconds. Then add the mushrooms, bamboo shoot and the ham, the chicken stock, the
soy sauce and the cornflour mixed in a little water. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Put the vegetables and ham on a serving
dish and keep warm. To the sauce in the pan add 2 tablespoons of oil when it is thoroughly mixed into the sauce. Cook them until the
whites are set and then arrange them on the vegetables and ham. It is better to cook the eggs two at a time. Serve
immediately.
Pigeon eggs are regarded as a great delicacy in China and are often added to the clear soups. Boil them for 5 minutes, remove
the shells and add one to each basin of soup, whether chicken or meat soup."
---Game Cooking: A Collection of Recipes with a Dictionary of Rare Game, Theodora Fitzgibbon [Andre Deutsch:London]
1963 (p. 123-125)
Scotch eggs
Scotch eggs (aka Scots eggs) first surfaced in early 19th century British Isles.
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 705)
"Scotch eggs," Mrs. Rundell
"Scots Eggs. (Meg Dod's Recipe)
Eggs, forcemeat, ham, anchovy. Bread, spices, &c.
Five eggs make a dish. Boil them hard as for salad. Peel and tip them in beat egg and cover them
with a forcemeat made of grated ham, chopped anchovy, crumbs, mixed spices, &c. Fry them
nicely in good clarified dripping and serve them with a gravy-sauce separately."
---The Scots Kitchen, F. Marian McNeill, first published in 1929 [Mercat Press:Edinburgh] 1993
(p. 168)
"Eggs, Scotch.
Prepare a forcemeat of bread-crumbs, grated ham, and anchovy pounded and mixed spices. Roll
five hard-boiled eggs, freed from their shells, first into beaten egg, and then into the forcemeat.
Put some good dripping or lard into a frying-pan and brown the eggs slightly in it, turning them
round that all sides may be done alike. Serve with good rich gravy in a tureen. Time, ten minutes
to boil the eggs."
---Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery with Numerous Illustrations [Cassell, Petter, Galpin:London]
1875? (p. 202)
Scotch eggs,
Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Mrs. D. A. Lincoln
"Scots eggs.
Also called Scotch Eggs, are served for breakfast, or as a savoury, by also make a very useful
picnic dish served with a salad.
10 eggs (8 hard boiled)
1 1/2 lb pork sausage-meat
a pinch of mace
salt and pepper
4 oz (1 cup) approx. Bread crumbs (crisp)
deep oil for frying."
---A Taste of Scotland, Theodora Fitzgibbon [Avenel:New York] 1979 (p. 24)
Scrambled eggs
What can we tell you about "scrambled" eggs?
We know that Ancient Romans scrambled eggs (ie, broke the yolks and mixed them with the
albumen), mixed them up with vegetables and spices, and baked them. These were the first
omelettes.
"There is so much known about fried, roasted, and scrambled eggs that it is not necessary to
speak about them" (from the fourteenth-century Libro della cucina)."
---Italian Cuisine: A Cultural History, Alberto Capatti & Massimo Montanari [Columbia University
Press:New York] 2003 (p. 77)
[NOTE: This 14th century book is Zambrini, Il libro della cucina del sec. XIV, p. 73. We do not
have a copy of this book.]
"Eggs Like Fritters.
SOURCE: The Neapolitan Recipe Collection, Cuoco Napoletano, Terence Scully [University of
Michigan Press:An Arbor] 2000 (p. 154)
[NOTEs: this book also contains the original wording of the recipe (p. 74); Mr. Scully does not
include the history of scrambled eggs in this book.]
In England, "buttered eggs," scrambled eggs cooked with butter and cream, were known
by the 16th century. The term "scrambled" appeared a century later.
"Eggs served with butter were familiar fasting-day food in Tudor times. Buttered eggs,
later to be known as scrambled eggs, came into the cookery books in the seventeenth
century. They were laid upon buttered rounds of toasted manchet [bread], and the dish
was garnished with pepper and salt."
---Food and Drink in Britain: From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson
[Academy Chicago:Chicago] 1991 (p. 144)
[1596: England]
"To Make Buttered Eggs.
Take eight yolks of eggs and put them into a pint of cream. Beat them together and strain
them all into a posnet setting upon the fire and stirring it. Let it seethe until it quaile
(curdle), then take it and put it into a clean cloth, and let it hang so that the whey may
void from it. When it is gone, beat it into a dish of rosewater and sugar with a spoon. So
shall you have fine butter. This done, you may take the white of the same eggs, putting it
into another pint of cream, using it as the yolks were used. And thus you may have as fine
white butter as you have yellow butter."
---The Good Housewife's Jewel, Thomas Dawson, with an introduction by Maggie
Black [Southover Press:East Sussex] 1996 (p. 85)
"To butter Eggs upon toasts.
Take twenty eggs, beat them in a dish with some salt, and put butter to them; then have two large rouls or fine manchets, cut them
into toasts, & taost them against the fire with a pound of sweet butter; being finely buttered, lay the toasts in a fair clean
scowred dish, put the eggs on the toasts, and garnish the dish with pepper and salt."
---The Accomplisht Cook, Robert May, facsimile 1685 edition [Prospect Books:Devon] 2000 (p. 443-444)
"Eggs buttered, with a Toast
Cut a thin toast round a loaf butter it on both sides, and cut it in square pieces; break six eggs into a stew-pan, beat them up
well, put in a little pepper and salt, a quarter of a pound of butter, and a little cream, put them over a slow fire, and keep them
stirring till the butter is melted, but take care they are not done too much, and them put them on the toast. You may brown themat the top
with a hot iron or salamander if you please, or send them to table without."
---The New Art of Cookery According to the Present Practice, Richard Briggs [W. Spotswood, R. Campbell and B. Johnson:Philadelphia]
1792 (p. 296)
"Scrambled Eggs.--Make a mixture as for an omelet, but instead of frying put it into a saucepan, and when it has boiled five
minutes take it off, and chop and mix all the ingredients into confusion. Serve it up in a deep dish. It is eaten at breakfast,
and is by many preferred to a fried omelet. You may season it with grated ham, tongue, or sweet herbs."
---Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book, Eliza Leslie [T.B. Peterson:Philadelphia] 1857 (p. 614)
"Eggs, Jumbled.
Break four eggs into a stewpan with two ounces of butter and a seasoning of salt and pepper; let them set over a clear fire, and
stir till the mixture becomes rather solid; then remove, and serve with or without a ragout of vegetables, celery, lettuce,
spinach, sorrel, or asparagus tops. If neither be liked, send to table upon slices of hot buttered toast. Time, five minutes. Probable
cost, without vegetables. 6d. Sufficient for three or four persons."
---Cassell's Dictionary of Cooking with Numerous Illustrations [Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co.:London] 1874 (ibid (p. 200)
This dish differs very little in its mode of preparation from our 'mumbled' or 'jumbled' eggs. When the pan has been well oiled with good butter, put into it
as many eggs as it will hold separately, that each yolk may be entire. When the whites have become slightly hard, stir from the bottom
of the pan till done, adding a piece of butter, pepper, and salt. When done, the yolks should be separate from the whites although
stirred together. Serve on hot buttered toast with anchovy sauce, potted meat, cheese, or fish spread over it first. The eggs
should be of the consistency of butter. Time, five minutes."
---ibid (p. 202)
"Scrambled Eggs," Mrs. Lincoln, Boston Cook Book
"1296. Oeufs Rouilles--Scrambled Eggs
This method of preparing eggs is undoubtedly the best, always bearing in mind that they should not be overcooked but be kept
soft and creamy. They are usually served in a small deep silver dish but according to the recipe are also presented in small Croustades,
cases made of hollowed-out Brioche or tartlet cases. Formerly it was the custom to surround the dish of scrambled eggs with
small Croutons of various shapes or pieces of cooked pale baked puff pastry in the form of crescents, diamonds, rounds or palm
leaves, etc.; this way has much to recommend it and can always be followed. In the old classical kitchen scrambled eggs were always
cooked au Bain-marie as this guaranteed that they were cooked perfectly; but this was a time-consuming operation. They may be cooked
more quickly by sing direct by gentle heat as a gradual cooking process is essential for obtaining the desired soft, smooth
texture.
---The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, Escoffier, 1907, translated by H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufmann
[John Wiley:New York] 1979 (p. 157)
"Scrambled Eggs [Japanese style]," &
"Chinese Scrambled Eggs,", Sara Bosse, Chinese-Japanese Cook Book
Eleanor Roosevelt's scrambled eggs
Souffle
According to the food historians, modern souffles (both sweet and savoury) were a product of
18th century French cuisine. The method is related to that of meringue.
A French word which literally means "puffed up," is a culinary term in both French and English
(and used in many other languages) for a light, frothy dish, just stiff enough to hold its shape, and
which may be savory or sweet, hot or cold. The basic hot souffle has as its starting point a roux--a
cooked mixture of flour and butter...This type of souffle was a French invention of the late 18th
century. Beauvilliers was making souffles possibly as early as 1782 (though he did not publish his
L'Art du cusinier until 1814). Recipes for various kinds appear in Louis Ude's The French
Cook of 1813, a work which promises a "new method of giving good and extremely cheap
fashionable suppers at routs and soirees. Later, in 1841, Careme's Patissier Royal Parisien
goes into great detail on the technique of making souffles, from which it is clear that cooks had
been having much trouble with souffles that collapsed. The dish acquired a reputation for
difficulty and proneness to accidents which it does not really deserve...There are some Ukranian
and Russian dishes of the hot souffle type, independently evolved and slightly different in
composition."
---Oxford Compantion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 735)
---Horizon Cookbook and Illustrated History of Eating and Drinking Through the Ages,
William Harlan Hale [American Heritage] 1968 (p. 713)
It doesn't. That nugget of culinary fakelore is not supported by science. The rise and (and the inevitable fall) of every souffle is a direct result of temperature. Heat
expands the air in the egg whites; coolness deflates it.
---Kitchen Science, Howard Hillman [Houghton Mifflin:Boston] 1989, revised edition (p. 285)
---On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of The Kitchen, Harold McGee [Scribner:New York] 2004, completely revised and updated edition, (p. 109-113)
[1828]
"Souffles for Entremets.
20th century American fads/popularity can be traced with cooking texts and magazine/newspaper
articles. The 1960s enjoyed a renaissance of everything French. Souffles included.
It will be sufficient to observe on the subject of souffles that they are all made in the same manner,
and that they vary only in the taste you give them. If sent up in proper time they are very good
eating, if not, they are no better than other puddings."
Bake a dozen potatoes in the oven; when they are well done, open them, scoop out the most
floury part, and mix it with half a pint of cream that has boiled, and in which you have infused the
peel of a lemon; to this add a little sugar, a large bit of butter, and a little salt; the taste of the
sugar, however, must predominate; yet observe, that the less sugar you use the lighter the souffles
are. Now break six eggs, throw th yolks of four only into the potatoes, breat the six whites, which
pour gently with the above preparation in to a souffle dish, and put it into the oven, which must
not be too hot. When the souffle is done enought, powder a little sugar over it, and use the
salamander; souffles must be served up the moment they are ready, for they are liable to sink."
Dilute a little flour with half cream and milk; set this pap on the fire to boil; when the flour is
hoen, put a littel salt, a little sugar, and a small quantitiy of pounded orange flower, mix well, and
then add a good bit of butter, the yolks of six eggs, and mix the whole well. Next beat the six
whites, and mix them with the rest: then bake the souffle as above, and when it is baked enough,
glaze it and send up."
Boil some milk with a little cream, to which give any taste you think proper. Threw into it the soft
part of two or three fresh rolls to soak, put the bread through a sieve, and proceed with the eggs,
butter, sugar, &c. as Nos. 1, 2, and 3."
Take a quarter of a pound of chocoalte, which cut as small as you can, and melt it on the fire in a
little water. When it is entirely melted, throw it into the souffle prepration, NO. 4, the same as all
others...and generally all otehr souffles, are prepared in the same manner. The question is, to
make the preparation well, and above all things to beat the whites of the eggs very well, for on
that alone depends the rising or falling of the souffle."
Break six eggs, put the whites into one pan, and the yolks into another; rasp a little lemon peel or
orange flowers, beat the yolks well, add a little sugar and salt, and next beat the whites well en
neige, and mix them with the yolks lightly. Then put a lump of butter into an omelette pan on
the fire; when the butter is melted, our the omelette into the pan; when it is firm enough on one
side to hold the liquid part, turn it over on the dish you send up; then bake it in an oven, or use the
Dutch oven. When it is well raised, glaze it, and sent it up immediately, for it would soon lower.
Mind, it must be convered hermetically with a large fire over it, otherwise it will not rise. To this
you many give whatever flavour you think proper; but the plainer the better, when served very
hot, and very high."
---The French Cook,Louis Eustache Ude, photoreprint of 1828 edition, [Arco
Publishing:New York] 1978 (p. 367-370)
Put 1 1/4 oz. of flour in a stewpan, wtih 1 1/2 pint of milk; season with salt, and pepper; stir over
the fire, till boiling,--and should there be any lumps, strain the souffle paste through a tammy
cloth; Add 7 oz of grated Parmesan cheese, and 7 yolks of egg; whip the whites till they are firm,
and add them to the mixture; fill some paper cases with it, and bake in the oven for fifteen
minutes. Observation.--All these souffles should be served immediately they are cooked." (p. 324)
Break 6 eggs; separate the whites form the yolks; put 3 yolks in a basin, with 3 oz. Of sugar,a nd
half a grated lemon peel; stir, with a wooden spoon, for five minutes; Put the 6 whites in a
whipping bowl, and whip them until they are very firm; then mix them lightly with the yolks;--this
should constitute a very solid paste; Butter a round dish slightly; throw in the whole of the paste
at once, as lightly as possible; smooth it over with a knife, and make an incision about 1 inch
deep, with the handle of a silver spoon, all round the side of the omelet; put it in the oven for ten
minutes, and serve immediately; Should omelet soufflee be kept for a few minutes after it is taken
out of the oven, it will be spoilt."(p. 189)
---The Royal Cookery Book, Jules Gouffe, translated by Alphonse Gouffe [Sampson Low,
Son and Marston:London] 1869
Ingredients: 1 dl (3 1/2 fl oz or 1/2 U.S. cup) milk, 25 g (1 1/2oz) sugar, 1 tbs flour, 10 g (1/3 oz)
butter, 2 egg yolks and 3 stiffly beaten egg whites. Method: Bring the milk and sugar to the boil,
mix in the flour which has been diluted with a litte cold milk and cook on the stove for 2 minutes.
Remove form the stove, mix in the butter and egg yolks and then fold in the siffly beaten 2gg
whites."
4474. The Moulding and Cooking of Souffles
The souffle mixture is placed in a souffle mould or deep silver timbale or in a special
false-bottomed dish--in all cases these should be buttered and sugared inside. They are cooked in
a
moderately hot oven so that the heat may reach the centre of the mixutre by degrees. Two
mintues before removingthe souffle from the oven, dredge the surface wtih icing sugar which will
caramelize and form the required glaze when replaced in the oven. The decoration of souffles is
optional but in any case it should be ketp to a minimum."
---The Compete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, August Escoffier, first translation
into English by H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufmann of Le Guide Culinaire:1903 [John
Wiley:New York] 1979
[NOTE: Escoffier provides recipes for these sweet dessert souffles: fruit puree, almond, hazelnut,
camargo, cherry, chocolate, curacao, Elizabeth (vanilla & Kirsch), strawberry, fruits en croustade,
Hilda (lemon, strawberries & raspberries), praline, vanilla, violet etc. Savory souffles are
distributed throughout the book, use the index it locate them.]
"Cheese souffle (serves four)
1/2 cup butter, 1 cup flour, 5 egg yolks beaten, 2 cups milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pinch pepper, a
little nutmeg, 1 cup grated Parmesan or Swiss cheese, 6 egg whites.
Mix the melted butter and flour and let become golden brown. Add the boiling milk, mix with a
whip and let boil for 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, stirring constantly, then
combine with the egg yolks. When the boiling point is reached, remove from the fire and add the
grated cheese. Beat egg whites still and fold into the mixture. Place in a souffle dish and bake in
hot oven for 20 minutes." (p. 399)
6 egg yolks, 1 cup sugar, 1 vanilla bean or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 6 egg whites, 2
tablespoons confectioner's sugar.
Beat the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture has whitened and is a slight as a sponge cake mix.
Add the vanilla. Beat the egg whites stiff and gently fold into the first mixture. Spread on a long
buttered and sugared plate in the shape of an oval mound, saving a small quantity to decorate the
omelette. Smooth it all around with a spatula and decorate with the mixture set aside. (A pastry
piping bag or paper coronet may be used.) Bake in a moderate oven for 10 minutes. About 2
minutes before removing from the oven, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar to form a brilliant coat
when melted. Serve with Vanilla or Rum Sauce." (p. 395)
---Cooking a la Ritz, Louis Diat [J.B. Lippincott:New York] 1941
Thousand Year Eggs
These preserved egg delicacies are known in China by many names, most notably: "Thousand year eggs" and "Hundred year
eggs." Do they really take this long to prepare? No. Food historians and contemporary cooks tell us Thousand Year Eggs
are ready anywhere from 45-100 days. The titling numbers hold special good luck significance in Chinese culture.
European and colonial American housewives also knew how to preserve eggs in "slaked lime."
This was the norm before advanced transportation systems and refrigeration technology. Compare with:
Colonial American egg preservation techniques.
---The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook, Gloria Bley Miller [Grosset & Dunlap:New York]
1970 (p. 852)
---
Food in China: A Cultural and Historical Inquiry, Frederick J. Simoons [CRC Press:Boca Raton FL] 1991 (p. 364)
[NOTE: Kenneth Lo's Encyclopedia of Chinese Cooking contains instructions (p. 322-323). Happy to fax or mail.]
Clarifying agents: egg whites & eggshells
We find references to clarifying soup (broth, consomme) and coffee with egg whites and egg shells in 19th century American
cookbooks authored by home/domestic economists. These texts explain the scientific/chemical reasons for using egg whites. They do not, however,
address the issue of the egg shell.
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 189)
---Larousse Gastronomique, completely revised and updated [Clarkson Potter:New York]
2001 (p. 308)
[1861]
Eggshells in coffee?
To Clarify Stock.
109. INGREDIENTS. The whites of 2 eggs, 1/2 pint of water, 2 quarts of stock.
Mode . Supposing that by some accident the soup is not quite clear, and that its quantity is 2 quarts, take the whites of 2 eggs, carefully separated from their yolks, whisk them well together with the water, and add gradually the 2 quarts of boiling stock, still whisking. Place the soup on the fire, and when boiling and well skimmed, whisk the eggs with it till nearly boiling again; then draw it from the fire, and let it settle, until the whites of the eggs become separated. Pass through a fine cloth, and the soup should be clear.
Note . The rule is, that all clear soups should be of a light straw colour, and should not savour too strongly of the meat; and that all white or brown thick soups
should have no more consistency than will enable them to adhere slightly to the spoon when hot. All purées should be somewhat thicker."
---Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household
Management/Isabella Beeton
"Bouillon for Parties and Germans
...Beat the white of one egg with half a cup of cold
water until thoroughly mixed. Wash the egg shell, mash it and add it to the white. In
breaking the egg, take care to separate it so nicely that none of the yellow gets into the
white--as the smallest portion of yellow will prevent the bouillon from being perfectly
clear. Now add the white, shell and water to the boiling bouillon; let it boil hard for ten
minutes; then throw in one gill of cold water and boil five minutes longer; then take the
kettle off the fire and strain through a flannel bag..."
---Mrs. Rorer's Philadelphia Cook Book, Mrs. S[arah] T[yson] Rorer [Arnold and
Company:Philadelphia] 1886 (p. 11)
"How to Clear Soup Stock.
Whites of eggs slightly beaten, or raw, lean beef finely chopped, are employed for
clearing soup stock. The albumen found in each effects the clearing by drawing to itself
some of the juices which have been extracted from the meat, and by the action of the heat
have been coagulated. Some rise to the top and form a scum, others are precipitated.
Remove fat from stock, and put quantity to be cleared in stew-pan, allowing white and
shell of one egg to each quart of stock. Beat egg slightly, break shell in small pieces and
add to stock. Place on front of range, and stir constantly until boiling point is reached;
boil two minutes. Set back where it may simmer twenty minutes; remove scum, and strain
through double thickness of cheese cloth placed over a fine strainer."
----Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Fannie Merritt Farmer, facsimile 1896 edition
[Weathervane Books:New York] 1973 (p. 105)
"To clear soup-stock...Put into a saucepan the stock to be cleared, and into it stir the
whites and crushed shells of as many eggs as there are quarts of stock. Heat and stir until
it has boiled for two minutes; then keep it hot, without letting it simmer, for twenty
minutes, in order that the albumin, as it coagulates, may entangle every solid particle in
the stock. Pour through a fine strainer..."
---Elements of the Theory and Practice of Cookery, Mary E. Williams [MacMillan:New
York] 1901 (p. 161)
Yes! Primary sources confirm this was a common practice from early 19th century to pre-WWII USA. Why? The eggshells were employed
as clarifying agents, a practice also used for consomme. NOTE: the shells were strained from the brew before serving.
About coffee in 19th century America.
"Here's an old-timers' recipe for campfire coffee (yes, you actually crush up a whole egg--shell and all--into the grounds):
Camp Fire Coffee Heat a pot of cold water to boiling. [Allow to boil only 2 to 3 minutes.] Place a cup of ground coffee
and an egg in the middle of a piece of cheesecloth and tie the cheesecloth into a sack. Then break the egg in the sack and mix with the coffee by massaging the
g=bag. Drop the sack into the boiling water and cook for 4 minutes. Add one-half cup cold water to settle any grounds. The coffee is
absolutely superb. (Recipe collection of Sam Arnold.)"---Eating up the Santa Fe Trail, Sam'l P. Arnold [University of
Colorado Press:Denver] 1990 (p. 22)
[1832] Frugal Housewife/Lydia Maria Child
[1869] Domestic Cookery/Elizabeth Lea
[1884] Mrs. Lincoln's Boston Cook Book/Mary Lincoln
[1896] Boston Cooking School Cook Book/Fannie Merritt Farmer
[1927] "Whenever eggs and coffee appear on the same menu, crush the eggshells and put them in with the coffee. They will clear it wonderfully and
improve the flavor."---"Household Suggestions," Los Angeles Times, December 30, 1927 (p. A6)
[1939] "A crushed up eggshell will...improve and clarify the coffee."---"Helpful Hints," C.V. Crumley, Los Angeles Times, September 15, 1939 (p. A6)
Early American egg preservation techniques
Like Thousand Year Eggs, their venerable Chinese counterparts, colonial Americans preserved fresh
eggs in lime. Why bother preserving eggs in a time when many people owned chickens? Before industrial farming, chickens
didn't lay as many eggs during the cold, dark winter months. Pioneer families traveling west welcomed precious eggs in their
meals. Live chickens were sometimes transported but did not last long on the trail.
"Eggs will keep almost any length of time in lime-water properly prepared. One pint of coarse
salt, and one pint of unslacked lime, to a pailful of water. If there be too much lime, it will eat the
shells from the eggs; and if there be a single egg cracked, it will spoil the whole. They should be
covered with lime-water, and kept in a cold place. The yolk becomes slightly red; but I have seen
eggs, thus kept, perfectly sweet and fresh at the end of three years. The cheapest time to lay down
eggs, is early in spring, and the middle and last of September. It is bad economy to buy eggs by
the dozen, as you want them."
---American Frugal Housewife, Mrs. Child, Boston [1833] (p.11)
There are many rules for trying the soundness and freshness of eggs, one of which is to put them
in a pan of fresh water; all that will sink readily to the bottom of the pan are good, and all that
rise
or float on the top, are certainly rotten. It is said that in proportion to the freshness of the egg its
progress to the bottom of the pan will be. There is another very good rule, though a singular one,
that is, having washed and wiped the eggs clean, touch the large end with your tongue, and if, by
holding it there a second or two, it feels warm to your tongue, it is good, but if it feels cold, it is a
certain sign it is not good.
Eggs will keep for some time, buried in charcoal or wheat bran, after greasing them a little with
mutton tallow; but I believe the general opinion of those who have tried it is, that to keep them in
lime-water is the best way they can be preserved. To half a bushel of water add little over a pint
of
unslaked lime, and a as much coarse salt, and when the whole is dissolved, put in the eggs; be
very particular that you do not put in one that is cracked, as it will spoil the whole; there would
be
plenty of water to cover them well; if the brine is too strong with lime, it will eat the shells; this
of
course can be easily detected; if the eggs are fresh and whole, and water of the proper strength, it
is said they will keep good for years."
---Kentucky Housewife, Lettice Bryan, Cincinnati [1839] (p. 224-5)
Buy eggs for family use when cheapest; put them into two gallons of water, mixed with half a
pint
of salt and half a pint of unslacked lime. Make the pickle with boiling water. Put it cold to the
eggs. Let the eggs be new laid, and perfect; quite covered with the lime water, and kept in a stone
pot in a cool place. Thus preserved, eggs will keep good six months. If occasionally turned over,
the better."
---Improved Housewife, A Married Lady [Mrs. A. L. Webster], Hartford [1844] (p. 204)
Take a keg or pail, cover the bottom with half an inch of salt, and set your eggs close together, on
the small end; sprinkle them over with salt so as to cover them entirely, and then put down
another layer of eggs, and cover with salt, till your keg is full; cover it tight, and put it where they
will not freeze, and they will keep fresh and good a year, or longer. The eggs must be new and
fresh when put down. If you take eggs as soon as the hen has laid them, and smear the shells with
lard or butter, they will keep as good as new-laid eggs for some time; but if you rub the shells
with butter at any time, it will keep them good for months, and will prevent their being hatched."
---New England Economical Housekeeper, Mrs. E. A. Howland, Montpelier [1845] (p. 68)
Fresh eggs when held to the light, the white will look clear, and the yolk distinct; if not good they
will have a clouded appearance. When eggs are stale, the white will be thin and watery, and the
yolk will not be a uniform color, when broken; if there is no mustiness, or disagreeable smell,
eggs
in this state, are not unfit for making cakes, puddings, etc. Eggs for boiling should be as fresh as
possible; a new laid egg will generally recommend itself, by the delicate transparency of its shell.
Eggs may be kept fresh for several weeks, by packing them, the small end downwards, in bran or
chaff; keep them in a cool place. A refrigerator, or ice-box, will keep eggs as when first laid for a
long time.
Take fresh laid eggs, dip each one in melted lard, or beef fat, or rub a bit of butter thoroughly
over the shell, between the hands; then pack them, the small end downwards, in bran or chaff; in
this way they will keep good for months. Eggs may be kept good for a year, in the following
manner:-To a pail of water, put of unslacked lime and coarse salt each a pint; keep it in a cellar,
or
cool place, and put the eggs in, as fresh laid as possible. It is well to keep a stone pot of the lime
water ready to receive the eggs as soon as laid make a fresh supply every few months. This lime
water is of exactly the proper strength; strong lime water will cook the eggs. Very strong lime
water will eat the shell."
---Mrs. Crowen's American Lady's Cookery Book, Mrs. T. J. Crowen, New York [1847] (p.
164-5)
...There are various ways of preserving eggs. To keep them merely for plain boiling, you may
parboil them for one minute, and then bury them in powdered charcoal with their small ends
downward. They will keep a few days in a jar of salt; but do not afterwards use the salt in which
they have been immersed. They are frequently preserved for two or three months by greasing
them all over, when quite fresh, with melted mutton suet, and then wedging them close together
(the small end downwards) in a box of bran, layer above layer; the box must be closely covered.
Another way (and a very good one) is to put some lime in a large vessel, and slack it with boiling
water, till it is of the consistence of thin cream; you may allow a gallon of water to a pound of
lime. When it is cold, pour it off into a large stone jar, put in the eggs, and cover the jar closely.
See that the eggs are always well covered with the lime-water, and lest they should break, avoid
moving the jar. If you have hens of your own keep a jar of lime-water always ready, and put in
the
eggs as they are brought in from the nests. Jars that hold about six quarts are the most
convenient.
It will be well to renew the lime-water occasionally."
---Directions for Cookery in Its Various Branches, Miss [Eliza] Leslie, Philadelphia [1849] (p.
206-7)
---Common Sense in the Household: A Manual of Practical Housewifery, Marion Harland, New
York [1882] (p. 240-1)
In order to insure eggs at a reasonable price the season through it is advisable to 'put them down'
while they are plentiful. "Grandmother" used to bury eggs in salt or sand, but this is a bulky and
unsatisfactory method. The modern way, heartily endorsed by the government and all food
experts, is to put them down in water glass--a method which is simple, absolutely harmless,
inexpensive, and eminently satisfactory. It may be argued that the saving in price is not worth
while, but if it means only twenty cents a dozen, it will soon amount to dollars. Water glass may
be purchased at any drugstore at a very reasonable cost. But do not allow its chemical name to be
disturbing--it is merely potassium and sodium silicate. It should be bought commercially, not in
the form of the chemical pure article, as the latter is expensive, and the commercial variety is just
as effective. The equipment for putting down the eggs is very simple , all that is necessary being
good-sized, well-washed utensils of earthenware, glass, or enamelware, a utensil for measuring,
water, water glass, and eggs. The eggs must be clean but should not be washed as this removes
some of the natural coating. Pour one measure of water glass into the utensil, add ten times as
much water, mix well, and they put in the eggs, two or three at a time, taking care not to break
them. More may be added to the solution from day to day as they accumulate. If possible, the
eggs should be fresh laid. To prevent evaporation and chemical action because of the air, the
utensil should be kept covered. In the case of glass jars, the tops are adequate, without any
special
sealing with paraffine or other substances. In case of stone crocks, a piece of cheesecloth, folded
two or three times and put over the top of the jar, extending out under the lid, will be sufficient.
The eggs should be kept in a cool place but should not be allowed to freeze. Eggs put up in this
manner may be used in all the familiar ways. If to be boiled, however, the ends should be pricked
with a needle or pin; otherwise the egg is liable to burst, as the pores of the shell have been so
well sealed by the water glass."
---Ida Baily Allen's Modern Cook Book, Ida Baily Allen, New York [1935] (p. 284-5)
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